Though the real progressive roots actually were from sometime before the 1860's. The Reform Era was the first of many ebbs and flows of political winds. However today's Progressive Movement begins to grab hold of leaders at the grass roots level in the 1890's. It has taken about 120 years for us to get to the point where we are now but what started with good intentions in the 1890's has been twisted into a full blown power grab in today's era.
In the 1890's the Progressive Movement started with well intended endings. It was initially for the average American to be involved in the political process. The average voter was to be well informed and help make policy. Things like workers rights which were non-existent at the time were very important front page news. Labor Unions were sprouting up. The States were still battling for States Rights issues coming out of the Civil War. Government was attempting to expand its control over homesteading and law enforcement along with the expansion of the United States. It was a very turbulent time for the average American. People were apt to follow any platform that touted improvements over the current political system. What they grabbed a hold of at the time was dubbed "The Populist Movement."
What began with good intentions was later overtaken by people who did not believe in a self governed society. It is important to know that the people known at the time as social issue reformists identified more with the Democratic Party than that of the Republicans. Republicans were rooted in their own forms of political power and corruption but this is where the roots of today's Democratic Party take hold. The irony of this story is that the Republicans were the party of the original Progressive Movement.
The Populist Movement translated well locally and at the state level (think of today's Tea Party for Republicans.) As is the same today, third party entries at the national level have a hard time busting in between the Republicans and the Democrats. The Republicans (Theodore Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party) saw an opportunity to pick up voters by adopting the mantra of the Populist Movement, stating on national platforms that it had the American worker, farmer and the young Labor Union's interests at the very center of their hearts. The message translated well with people at the ballot box at the time and still does today. It just comes from a very different voice now.
It continued into the early 20th century. Progressive Presidents with both Republican and Democrat labels had set the tone. Beginning with Theodore Roosevelt taking over for an assassinated William McKinley who said he would not take any drastic measures to change the role of a fairly conservative government then turned around and demanded a "Square Deal" for the American People. This "Square Deal" was for control over Corporations, Consumer Protection and Conservation (Sound Familiar.) With his urging the Department of Commerce and Labor was formed. Later during the 1913 power grab by Woodrow Wilson the DOCL was divided into two bureaucracies, the Department of Commerce and the Labor Department.
Under the direction of Roosevelt congress also created the original version of the Food and Drug Administration for our protection with the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act. All of these bureaucracies were formed with great intentions to protect the American from big Corporations.
The last piece of the "Square Deal" was the conservation effort. It was estimated at the time that business and construction efforts from the beginning of the country's founding until 1900 had depleted about 25% of its forest land. Roosevelt then decided set aside 125 million acres of timberland as federal reserves. Although he was a Republican, he was Progressive and this is where the start of the Environmentalist Movement and Politics join hands.
Next came William Howard Taft who was also a Republican. Not as progressive in nature as Roosevelt but none the less was anti-big business and pro-American worker. He was the father of the Anti-Trust Policy that led to the signed Anti-Trust legislation we have today. He also was the signer of the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act. The Payne Act as it is commonly called split the Republican Party into Progressives and Old Guard (again think of today's Republicans with the Tea Party and establishment GOP.)
The first Democrat progressive president was Woodrow Wilson who was arguably thought of as the worst president in history by conservatives and thought of as a great president by liberals. With the Republican Party split between Old Guard and Progressives, the Democratic Party saw a chance to gain a strong foothold in American politics.
During the election of 1912 the Democrats used the message of the progressives stating that it would carry the torch of the American worker and farmer. With so many progressives upset at the establishment it was an easy takeover. Wilson signed into law a few things that upset everyone, liberals and conservatives alike. His biggest piece of legislation signed into law was the Federal Reserve Act. This came in at the same time as the 16th Amendment would be ratified by the states. The 16th Amendment allowed for the Federal Government to bring back the Income Tax that was repealed once before 10 years after the Civil War and under other legislation from the 1880's and 1890's deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. These two moves from congress under Woodrow Wilson gave us the cancer we have today in American Government. This topic however is for another discussion.
So as you can see, I have tied many of today's liberal groups to the Progressive Movement all the way back to the early 1900's. These groups include: Labor Unions, Farmers and Environmentalists. These presidents went after big business the same way that current presidents like Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have done through tightened regulation and market manipulation. The leaders of the free world from 1901-1921 were progressive and believed in big government in the name of protection for the American people.
Next weeks post will be The Progressive Takeover in America: Part 2. It will be about the gains in the Progressive Movement from 1921-1960. The last post in this series will be Part 3. It will define today's Progressive Movement which began in the 1960's through the current time. I look forward to your comments....
Harve Pettigrew
The New Constitutional Republican
No comments:
Post a Comment