The role and emergence of progressivism in the late 19th century and early 20th century cannot be ignored in the USA. The need for a political philosophy that aims at ensuring that there are political reforms that enhance modernization, including the growth of massive corporates, democracy, environmental conservation, and sane politics. The drive for progressivism was intense in the 20th century and was steered by men and women, and it was multiracial involving African Americans (Corbett et al. 2017). Theodore Roosevelt formed the Progressive party after losing the republican party's nomination to William Howard Taft in 1912. The part aimed to ensure equality despite the increased industrialization and social injustices in the USA.
According to Roosevelt, there are characteristics of a progressive that define real progressive. Roosevelt believed that a progressive is characteristic of realizing that change is inevitable and should be embraced (The Library of Congress, 2018). Besides, progressives also believe that they have to use governmental authority to ensure the exploitation of resources to benefit humanity. A progressive also can work voluntarily for the people they serve without expecting anything in return but preferably with the internal passion of ensuring that individuals receive better service. Another essential characteristic of a progressive, according to Roosevelt, is an individual who is optimistic about the future and is determined to use the opportunities given to solve the problems at hand and those that may arise in the future (Blum, 1997). Also, a progressive is characteristic of monitoring corporates to minimize exploitation of people and the environment.
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Anti-progressives are defined by the various features they possess. Anti-progressives are majorly characterized by self-centeredness and are determined by the accumulation of their wealth. Besides, anti-progressives have little or no regard for human dignity and often do not care about the environment. The results of the activities they engage in. another characteristic of ant-progressives is the infringement of the people's rights through the formation of institutions that do not take care of the majority views. An example is the American anti-progressives who promoted non-democratic activities (Corbett et al. 2017). The activities were majorly associated with wealth accumulation by the governments and ignoring the voices of the majority. The exploitation of workers and being capitalistic are also the major concerns that arise with anti-progressives. Having wealth disparities among people of a community raises concerns and makes individuals feel the lack of inclusivity within a system. The anti-progressivism era can be characterized as insensitive to the needs of the people and their minimum inclusivity (Corbett et al. 2017). Consumers also suffer under the management or rule of anti-progressivists as they are not protected, and their needs and views are not considered.
Roosevelt, in his speech, critically analyzes the goals of progressivism. He donates that it is essential to secure the people's real rule other than the nominal rule. By this, we can conclude that Roosevelt is referring to high levels of democracy that allows for the listening of the people's views. Besides, the statement can be interpreted to mean that he referred to the elimination of social injustices that faced individuals (Blum, 1997). Elimination of social injustices can be achieved by ensuring minimal or no exploitation of workers by reducing their working hours and increasing their pay. Also, eliminating child labor is critical in the reduction of social injustices. The second goal of progressivism was ensuring that there is an economic reform in the USA (Blum, 1997). Economic reforms were necessitated by the high levels of capitalism that had taken route and were not fair for the USA's communities. Capitalism had many government individuals favored in large businesses and therefore leading to limited competition in the businesses.
Areas of address in the community include the welfare of consumers. Roosevelt had noted that organizations were majorly concerned with maximum profitability. In his progressive approach to politics, he aimed to ensure that the workers' welfare was put at the forefront. He would ensure that this happens through the regulation of the interests of large cooperatives. Large corporates are usually profit-based and do not care about the workers' well-being, therefore subjecting workers to poor working conditions and long hours of working that deteriorate the health conditions of the workers (Nicholas et al. 2017). Environmental conservation is also another area of address by the progressives. Large manufacturing tends to be involved in environmental degradation through pollution due to the wastes during production. Environmental degradation can also happen due to the companies' over-exploitation of natural resources used as raw materials. Besides, having a keen look at the political and economic reforms sector was critical for the progressives (Nicholas et al. 2017). Political reforms were aimed at ensuring democracy and that individuals practiced their democratic rights as citizens. On the other hand, economic reforms aimed to reduce the capitalistic nature that had taken over the USA.
Roosevelt highlights various achievements of the progressives in his speech. The efforts he highlights are not his alone but rather include those of his predecessors, such as president Taft in ensuring that the progressive approach to politics is appreciated. The speech highlights an achievement such as the Act of Illinois that ensured the prohibition of child labor, and there was also depreciation of the hours worked by females (Blum, 1997). He also emphasizes the policies put in place by other states in the USA to ensure that workers' welfare was considered instead of focusing on other factors such as the making of profits. Roosevelt also applauds the decisions taken by his predecessors to ensure that individuals' well-being is put in front regardless of the hindrance that may have been realized from the other majority (Flanagan, 2016). A key component worth noting in the speech is highlighting the importance of progressives' achievements in ensuring social justice for Americans, which could have been hindered by the high levels of industrialization.
In conclusion, progressive political roles cannot be ignored. The role the politics played mostly during the beginning of the 20th century ensured that there was environmental conservation despite the increased levels of industrialization, regulations of activities by various corporates, and addressing economic and social inequality in the USA. In his speech in 1912, Theodore highlights the progressives' goals and the achievements made by the progressives. He also highlights the activities of his predecessors to support his progressive policy.
References
Corbett, P. S., Janssen, V., Lund, J. M., Pfannestiel, T. J., & Vickery, P. S. (2017). U.S. history . OpenStax, Rice University.
The Library of Congress. (2018, October 23). Presidential election of 1912: a resource guide. https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/elections/election.1912.html
Blum, J. M. (1997). The Republican Roosevelt . Harvard University Press.
Nichols, C. M. K., & Unger, N. C. (2017). A companion to the gilded age and progressive era . Wiley Blackwell.
Flanagan, M. A. (2016, August 5). Progressives and Progressivism in an Era of Reform . Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History. https://oxfordre.com/americanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.001.0001/acrefore-9780199329175-e-84.
