The Lost Promise of Progressivism
Long before the current calls for national service, civic responsibility, and the restoration of community values, the Progressives initiated a remarkably similar challenge. Eldon Eisenach traces the evolution of this powerful national movement from its theoretical origins through its dramatic rise...
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| Natura: | Online |
| Lingua: | inglese |
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University Press of Kansas
2022
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| Accesso online: | ONIX_20220715_9780700630875_245 |
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| _version_ | 1869515778401763328 |
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| author | Eisenach, Eldon J. |
| author_browse | Eisenach, Eldon J. |
| author_facet | Eisenach, Eldon J. |
| author_sort | Eisenach, Eldon J. |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | Long before the current calls for national service, civic responsibility, and the restoration of community values, the Progressives initiated a remarkably similar challenge. Eldon Eisenach traces the evolution of this powerful national movement from its theoretical origins through its dramatic rise and sudden demise, and shows why their philosophy still speaks to us with such eloquence.Eisenach analyzes how and why, between 1885 and World War I, progressive political ideas conquered almost every cultural and intellectual bastion except constitutional law and dominated every major national institution except the courts and party system. Progressives, he demonstrates, were especially influential as a force in American politics, higher education, and the media. They created wideranging professional networks that functioned like a "hidden national government" to counter a federal government they deeply distrusted. They viewed the university as their national "Church"—the main repository and disseminator of values they espoused. They established truly national journals for a national audience. And they drew much support from women's rights advocates and other highly vocal movements of their time.Permeated with an evangelical Protestant vision of the future, progressive thought was an integral part of the national discourse for nearly three decades. But, as Eisenach reveals, at the very moment of its triumph it disintegrated as both a coherent theory and a viable public doctrine. With the election in 1912 of Woodrow Wilson, the movement reached its peak, but thereafter lost its momentum and force. Its precipitous decline was accelerated by world war and by the rise of New Deal liberalism. By the end of the Depression it had disappeared as an influential player in American public life.In the decades that followed, the Progressive mantle went unclaimed. Conservatives blamed the Progressives for the rise of the welfare state and many liberals cringed at their theological and imperialist rhetoric. Eisenach, however, argues that we still have much to learn about and from the Progressives. By enlarging our understanding of their thought, we greatly increase our understanding of an America whose national institutions—political, cultural, educational, religious, professional, economic, and journalistic—are all largely the product of this thinking. In other words, their ideas are still very much with us. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-88496 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publishDateRange | 2022 |
| publishDateSort | 2022 |
| publisher | University Press of Kansas |
| publisherStr | University Press of Kansas |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-884962024-03-29T19:30:46Z The Lost Promise of Progressivism Eisenach, Eldon J. Civics & citizenship thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPV Political control and freedoms::JPVC Civics and citizenship Long before the current calls for national service, civic responsibility, and the restoration of community values, the Progressives initiated a remarkably similar challenge. Eldon Eisenach traces the evolution of this powerful national movement from its theoretical origins through its dramatic rise and sudden demise, and shows why their philosophy still speaks to us with such eloquence.Eisenach analyzes how and why, between 1885 and World War I, progressive political ideas conquered almost every cultural and intellectual bastion except constitutional law and dominated every major national institution except the courts and party system. Progressives, he demonstrates, were especially influential as a force in American politics, higher education, and the media. They created wideranging professional networks that functioned like a "hidden national government" to counter a federal government they deeply distrusted. They viewed the university as their national "Church"—the main repository and disseminator of values they espoused. They established truly national journals for a national audience. And they drew much support from women's rights advocates and other highly vocal movements of their time.Permeated with an evangelical Protestant vision of the future, progressive thought was an integral part of the national discourse for nearly three decades. But, as Eisenach reveals, at the very moment of its triumph it disintegrated as both a coherent theory and a viable public doctrine. With the election in 1912 of Woodrow Wilson, the movement reached its peak, but thereafter lost its momentum and force. Its precipitous decline was accelerated by world war and by the rise of New Deal liberalism. By the end of the Depression it had disappeared as an influential player in American public life.In the decades that followed, the Progressive mantle went unclaimed. Conservatives blamed the Progressives for the rise of the welfare state and many liberals cringed at their theological and imperialist rhetoric. Eisenach, however, argues that we still have much to learn about and from the Progressives. By enlarging our understanding of their thought, we greatly increase our understanding of an America whose national institutions—political, cultural, educational, religious, professional, economic, and journalistic—are all largely the product of this thinking. In other words, their ideas are still very much with us. 2022-07-15T14:59:23Z 2022-07-15T14:59:23Z 1994 book ONIX_20220715_9780700630875_245 9780700630875 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/88496 eng image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://muse.jhu.edu/book/81021 University Press of Kansas 10.1353/book.81021 10.1353/book.81021 d6fe0229-a31d-4b33-87fc-38cc16caac43 9780700630875 302 open access |
| spellingShingle | Civics & citizenship thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPV Political control and freedoms::JPVC Civics and citizenship Eisenach, Eldon J. The Lost Promise of Progressivism |
| title | The Lost Promise of Progressivism |
| title_full | The Lost Promise of Progressivism |
| title_fullStr | The Lost Promise of Progressivism |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Lost Promise of Progressivism |
| title_short | The Lost Promise of Progressivism |
| title_sort | lost promise of progressivism |
| topic | Civics & citizenship thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPV Political control and freedoms::JPVC Civics and citizenship |
| topic_facet | Civics & citizenship thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPV Political control and freedoms::JPVC Civics and citizenship |
| url | ONIX_20220715_9780700630875_245 |
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