The Birth of the Progressive Movement: Fighting Corruption in Politics.

in the market by lowering the import tariffs. William Jennings Bryan was also influenced by the ideals of the progressivism and he was the champion of democracy. He supported the trust-bursting which aimed at fighting the big corporations which restricted fair trade and controlled prices. Eugene Debs was also shaped by the Progressive ideals as it is evidenced by his many attempts to advocate for the rights of the employees. He was puzzled by the fact that the owners of the companies were becoming richer more and more yet the employees were earning meager wages and this made him to mobilize workers to hold protests.

The progressivism shaped the American politics worldview when politicians extended the vision of rational and just society to all parts of the world. The progressivism shaped the interactions between the Americans and rulers of other nations by interjecting in matters where the rights of certain countries were being violated. During the period, the political leaders aimed to extend the vision of just as well as rational order the society in all parts of the globe. As a result, the interaction of United States with rulers of other countries was either promoted or worsened based on the move that was taken. For instance, the 1898 American-Spanish war that led to free of Cuba promoted United States diplomatic relationship with Cuban rulers while at the same time affected that of Spain.

The progressivism fit into the American understanding of its own power not only in the country but also in the whole world. The American government felt that it was its role to play an activist role of domestic and foreign policy. The ideological

concerns of both democrats and republicans were also influenced by progressivism. Both parties pursued the political, environmental as well as economic reforms that ensured equality and just society.

Among the reform they pursued was the trust-busting of the big corporations, reduction of corruption in the politics, support labor unions and promotion of health programs. They used these agendas to win the votes for their respective candidates during elections.

The Gilded Age was characterized by big businesses. The pressure of eradicating corruption and exploitation of the workers by the company owners was the main agenda of the people who were championing for progressivism. The main motive of the progressivism was to ensure that the workers were not exploited anymore and corruption was eradicated in the country.

The progressives viewed the business environment to be full of inequalities and corruption. This was evidenced by the gap between the workers and the rich that was increasingly becoming wider day after day. This is due to the fact that the employers were exploiting workers who were mostly the poor by paying them meager wages even after working for many hours in a day.

The progressive idea of utopia led to the segregation in the United States after the court allowed the states to enact series of the segregation laws that were known as Jim Crow laws. These laws aimed at kicking out the blacks from the white world. In addition, they restricted the blacks from joining the trade unions, compelled them to take low-skilled as well as low paying jobs and reducing their chances of securing education and good housing.

The African Americans and other minority groups like that of women were treated unfairly

from the majority in the new nation. For instance, women roles were restricted to house wives and they were not allowed to vote. In addition, African Americans were paid low wages and their chances of accessing education and good education were significantly low.

According to the e book, the relationship between the public activists and the general public is the fact they both advocated for the rights of the poor during the progressive era by promoting democracy and public participation in government agendas. They were campaigning for the eradication of poverty in the country as well as fair treatment of the employees by their employers through fair remuneration. The activists used the progressive systems to encourage the public to consider using the alternative ideas different from those that were offered by the traditional institutions to advocate for the rights and at the same time present and discuss social, political and economic problems they were facing.

Social centers were the public schools as well as other places that were used for the public debates as and other forums during the progressive era. The relationship between ideas of public, citizenship and democracy in relationship to social center is the fact that social centers were used by the members of public to promote democracy and public participation. The social centers were used by the citizens to generate their own ideas, enable others to express their opinions about the problems people were facing by offering platforms of discussing social, political and economic problems they faced.

As a consequence, it enabled people to promote democracy through presenting their opinions. Social centerianism” was the precursor to the modern idea of communitarianism because it enabled

people to come together and present their views about the problems that affected the society during the progressive error. It is a kind of participatory leadership that is commonly practiced today where the governments seek the opinion and incorporate them in decision making.

The First World War I impacted the social centers after the intellectuals who supported them were faced by the modern life. As a consequence, the social centers were replaced by the modern platforms that enabled the citizens to engage in participation. Though there were some people who supported the social critics, their critics advocated for the modern platforms that allowed people to express their views on different issues.

The conflict made the supporters of social centers to back modernity and create institutions that fostered democratic action. These supporters introduced the creative insights that showed how the modern citizens to participate in decision making.

Work Cited

1. Lears, T. J. Jackson. Rebirth of a Nation: The Making of Modern America, 1877-1920. New York: Harper Perennial, 2010.
2. McGerr, Michael. A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America. Simon and Schuster. 2010.
3. Kevin, Mattson. Creating a Democratic Public : The Struggle for Urban Participatory Democracy During the Progressive. EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost).
4. Link, William A., and Susannah J. Link. The Gilded Age and Progressive Era A Documentary Reader. Chicester: John Wiley & Sons, 2012
5. William A., Link. and Susannah J. Link. The Gilded Age and Progressive Era A Documentary Reader. Chicester: (John Wiley & Sons, 2012), p.78.
6. Ibid,p.81.
7. T. J. Jackson, Lears,. Rebirth of a Nation: The Making of Modern America, 1877-1920. (New York: Harper Perennial, 2010.), p. 283
8. Ibid, p. 297