FREE ESSAY ON PROGRESSIVISM

PROGRESSIVISM

Progressivism implies a philosophy that welcomes innovations and reforms in the political,
economic, and social order. The Progressive movement, 1901 to 1917, was ultimately the
triumph of conservatism rather than a victory for liberalism. In a general sense, the
conservative goals of this period justified the Liberal reforms enacted by Progressive
leaders. Deviating from the "traditional" definition of conservatism (a resistance to
change and a disposition of hostility to innovations in the political, social, and
economic order), the Conservatist triumph was in the sense that there was an effort to
maintain basic social and economic relations vital to a capitalist society. The
Progressive leaders essentially wanted to perpetuate Liberal reform in order to bring
upon general conservatism. 
Expansion of the federal government's powers, competition and economic distribution of
wealth, and the social welfare of American citizens concerned the many leaders of this
era. The business influence on politics was quite
significant of the Progressive Era. Not only did the three leading Progressive political
figures, Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson, bring upon new heights to government regulation,
but also the great business leaders of this era defined the
units of political intervention. With political capitalism rising to fame, Progressive
politics experienced new themes and areas. The inevitability of federal regulation
policies, reformation of social welfare, conservation, and various innovations with
banking led to one conservative effort: the preservation of existing powers and
economic/social relations. The political leaders of this ear were conservative in that
they all believed in the fundamentals of basic capitalism. The various forms of
anti-trust legislation presented by each president made the nation one step closer to
providing a stable, predictable, and secure, therefore, conservative capitalist society.
Theodore Roosevelt's statist tendencies brought new meaning to government regulation.
Roosevelt's Anti-Trust policy of 1902 pledged government intervention to break up illegal
monopolies and regulate corporations for the public good. Roosevelt felt that "bad"
trusts threatened competition and markets. in order to restore free competition,
President Roosevelt ordered the Justice department to prosecute corporations pursing
monopolistic
practices. However, the Judicial Branch repudiated its duty (right of reason) and now,
even if the impact of the market was not harmful, actions that restrained or monopolized
trade would automatically put a firm in violation of the
Sherman law. In 1902, the United Mine Workers were willing to submit to arbitration, but
the coal operators adamantly opposed any recognition of the union. Thus, the union
members decided to strike over wages, safety
conditions, and union recognition. The Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902 ended with the
appointment by Roosevelt of an arbitration commission to rule on the issues. Business men
did not regard politics (government regulation) as a necessary evil, but as an important
part of their position in society. Roosevelt did not see big business as evil, but a
permanent development that was necessary in a modern economy. Roosevelt couldn't rely on
the courts to distinguish between "good" or "bad" trusts. The only solution was for the
executive to assume that responsibility. Roosevelt's ingenious "square dealings" and
"gentlemen's agreements" controlled many firms. In 1903, a new cabinet position was
created to address the concerns of business and labor (Department of Commerce and Labor).
Within the department, the Bureau of Corporations was empowered to investigate and report
on illegal activities of corporations. The abuse of economic power by railroads proposed
another problem for Roosevelt. However, in 1903,
the Elkins Act empowered the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission, first American federal
regulatory agency) to act against discriminatory rebates. Also, in 1906, the Hepburn Act
increased the ICC membership from five to seven. 
The ICC could set its own fair freight rates, had its regulatory pwer extended over
pipelines, bridges, and express companies, and was empowered to require a uniform system
of accounting by regulated transportation companies. 
Besides economic relations, Roosevelt involved himself in many important conservative
social relations. The Secretary of treasury created an inspection organization to certify
that cattle for export were free of disease. With disappointing results, Germany and
other European countries banned the importation of American meant. Federal regulation
helped improve exports to Europe, free competition, another conservative effort. In 1906,
the Meat
Inspection Act provided for federal and sanitary regulations and inspections in meant
packing facilities. Also, the Pure Food and Drug Act prohibited the manufacture, sale,
and transportation of adulterated labeled foods and drugs in
accordance with consumer demands. Roosevelt passed many conservation laws from 1902 to
1908 to create federal irrigation projects, national parks and forests, develop water
power, and establish the Nation Conservation Commission to oversee the nation's
resources. Taft, hand picked by Theodore Roosevelt, had two primary political goals in
1909. One was the continuation of Roosevelt's trust-busting, and the other was the
reconciliation of the old guard conservatives and
young progressive reformers in the Republican Party. Taft, being an anti-statist, was a
poor progressive politician. Instead of the positive outlook toward big business and
competition resembling Roosevelt, Taft was an advocate of
minimum governmental regulation. However, in perusing anti-monopoly law enforcement, Taft
and his Attorney General George Wichersham brought44 indictments in anti-trust suites.
Taft was successful in healing the Republican split between conservatives and
progressives over such issues as tariff reform, conservation, and the almost dictatorial
pwer held by Republican Speaker of the House, Joseph Cannon. Taft's inability to bring
both wings of the party together led to the hardened division which would bring about a
Democratic victory in the 1912 elections. In 1910, Republican progressives joined with
Democrats to strip Speaker Cannon of his pwer to appoint the Committee on Rules and serve
on it himself. Although critical of Cannon, Taft failed to align himself with the
progressives. Also, another event pushing the greater split in the Republican party was
the Ballinger-Pinchot Disputes (1909-1910). Progressives backed Gifford Pinchot, chief of
the U.S. Forest Service, in his charge that the
conservative Secretary of the Interior, Richard Ballinger, was giving away the nation's
natural resources to private corporate interests. A congressional investigatory committee
found that Ballinger had done nothing illegal, but did act
in a manner contrary to the government's environmental policies. Taft had supported
Ballinger through the controversy, but negative public opinion forced Ballinger to resign
in 1911. Taft's political standing with progressive
Republicans hurt the election of 1912. Taft promoted the idea of a nation budgetary
system. In 1909, Congress passed a graduated income tax amendment to the Constitution
which was ratified in 1913. Also, Progressives
generally considered high tariffs to be a major cause for the decline of competition and
the rise of "bad" trusts. Taft had campaigned for a "sizable reduction." However, Taft
was won over by the conservative Republican bloc and gave his approval for the
protectionist Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909, which favored eastern industry. From this
faction between fellow Republicans, the National Progressive Republican League, with
Theodore Roosevelt as head, began a drive to take control of the Republican party. One
important issued that distinguished Taft from the other Progressive Presidents was his
position on trusts. He rebelled at the discretionary use of presidential authority over
instituting antitrust suits. The Sherman Act was unclear, yet enforced. "The New
Nationalism" presented by Roosevelt stated that the federal government could be empowered
to oversee big business to make sure it acted in public interest. The nation's industrial
corporations would be treated as if they were natural monopolies or public utilities and
placed under direct public oversight.
While the Republicans battled among themselves, the Democrats had stepped into position.
In the 1910 elections, Democrats made dramatic gains, bringing Woodrow Wilson into the
Presidential office in 1912. The Wilson administration brought together many of the
policies and initiatives of the previous Republican administrations, and reform efforts
in Congress by both parties. Wilson achieved a lower tariff reform (Underwood-Simmons
Act, 1913) and a graduated income tax through the 16th amendment. The Underwood-Simmons
Tariff Act not only pared rates down to an average of 23 percent but also spurred
competition and reduce prices for consumers. Wilson favored a Federal Reserve Banking
System, which provided regulation and flexibility to monetary policy. However, when it
came down to economic situations, Wilson quickly resembled Roosevelt on his decisions and
actions. Like Roosevelt, Wilson did not consider big business as "bad", but the abuses of
economic power. Nor did Wilson think
that the abuse of pwer could be prevented without a strong federal government. Where he
parted company from Roosevelt was however how the authority of government should be used
to restrain private power. Wilson proposed
to deal with the problems of corporate power with court enforcement of the Sherman Act.
His task was to figure out how to make that long-established antitrust approach work
better. The main thing was to prevent the trust from
unfairly using their power to curb that free competition. In the Clayton Antitrust Act of
1914, it would only apply to where the effect may be to substantially lessen competition
or tend to create a monopoly in any line of commerce. As
for the trade commission, Wilson initially wanted no more than an advisory and
information-gathering agency. However, the Federal Trade Commission (1914) received much
broader powers. As for other goals besides economic interests, Wilson succeeded in both
social and economic affairs. Although not so familiar with Roosevelt's social welfare,
Wilson still enforced ways to help the general public. The Keating-Owen Act in 1916
protected the children of the work force. The Federal Farm Loan Act, 1916, was a credit
reform for agriculture and an independent tariff commission came about later in 1916. By
the end of Wilson's presidency, the New Freedom and the New Nationalism merged into one
government philosophy of regulation, order and standardization in the interest of an
increasingly divers and pluralistic American nation. Through the many actions and
decisions of each Progressive presidents and business leaders, the
Progressive Era was mainly that of a conservative effort. Although the actual details and
literal events seemed to take a Liberal stance, the overall period was aimed at
preserving competition, distribution of wealth, common good,
and existing powers. Government regulation not only played a vital role in trust
regulation, but also served to regulate competition, money flow, and markets. The
Progressive Era brought decentralization and competition to society,
which was what politicians, business leaders, and the common people wanted from the
beginning. In essence, the Progressive Era served to maintain their primary goals. The
new laws and acts put into order during the Progressive
movement seemed and are Liberal indeed. However, the Liberal reforms reinforced the
original conservative goals. Business and political leaders accepted the growing
competition. Laissez faire, complete Liberalism, hardly ever existed and will not appear
in the near future. Political capitalism, by definition from Gabriel Kolko (author of
"The Triumph of Conservatism), is the utilization of political outlets to attain
conditions of stability, predictability, and
security in the economy. The fact that federal regulation of the economy was conservative
in its effect in preserving existing power and economic relations in society shows that
federal regulation in the economy was conservative as
well. Through the many antitrust acts and various economic and social policies, the
Progressive Era ultimately operated on the assumption that the general welfare of the
community could be best served by satisfying the concrete
needs of business. The big business and business leaders influenced the regulation and
the government worked for the people, promoting competition and decentralization. Hence,
the Progressive movement served to preserve
original goals, not reform society with Liberalism.