Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America

Posted: February 21st, 2020

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Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America

The conflict evident in efforts to resolve America’s social problems involved the ramifications that would arise from establishing efforts that overstepped the privacy boundary of the nation’s civilians regardless of the purpose, which involved curing the society of its evils and ills. The progressive movement was characterized by an ideology based on the restoration of American ideals and norms. By that time, most of the country’s society inclined heavily towards participation in acts that were deemed immoral at the time. Accordingly, a large number of people engaged in alcoholism and sexual activities that mostly included prostitution. Even though one could argue that it was the right of people to engage in such activities, the movement at the time sought to disrupt such boundaries by promoting measures such as prohibition, which legally restricted the consumption of alcohol especially in public places. In other instances, violent approaches were inculcated as illustrated by the actions of Carrie Nation against saloons (McGerr 80).

Despite the moral objective of the participants, it was impossible to address the range of social ills in the United States without addressing the causative factor of these particular ills. In an effort to curb alcohol consumption, violence erupted and established itself as a major factor in the fight to ensure moral suasion. Additionally, the focus on reshaping adult behavior did not particularly bear the intended results that the social movement hoped for in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. For instance, actions aimed at instilling values depended on domesticity. However, such actions only created problems based on the fear of securing the conventional home framework. The turn of the 20^th century depicted a series of battles that took place in response to the restructuring of adult behavior. Some of the activities that encouraged such conflicts involved gambling, breaking of the Sabbath, the use of contraceptives, dance halls, horseracing, as well as alcohol-based indulgence (McGerr 83).

Most of the people that took part in activities aimed at restructuring adult behavior comprised middle-class Americans. These respective citizens were on a mission to instill middle-class norms and values in the deteriorating American society. Additionally, these groups were convinced that the society was rife with instances of moral struggle. This was due to high incidences of divorce, sexual activity, and disrespect towards the set gender roles. The rise of saloons allowed men as well as women to relinquish their status at work and family in order to search for pleasure. As such, brothels became a considerable habit within the respective society. As such, acts such as prostitution became common in these settings (McGerr 86). Because of these incidences, the middle-class Americans were convinced that the society had considerably deteriorated. In this respect, the group focused on establishing reforms that focused on the restoration of the American society.  

The movement that took part in the efforts to address social ills in the United States was known as the Progressive Movement. The progressives were mainly comprised of middle-class Americans. Due to the immoral nature of the American society in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, the Progressives established reforms that aimed at correcting the respective society via the rectification of adult behavior. Therefore, for their objectives to be successful, the Progressives focused on restricting liquor, eliminating prostitution, and restricting the occurrence of divorce in the society (McGerr 78). Additionally, the movement was convinced that altering the nature of other classes would assist greatly in restructuring adult behavior. Hence, with this ideology in mind, the Progressives inculcated attacks on the fortunes and lifestyles of the upper class, attempted to augment the workers’ living conditions, and focused on modernizing the agricultural life (McGerr 78).

Works Cited

McGerr, Michael E. A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America, 1870-1920. New York: Free Press, 2003. Print.