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Master of American History and Government

Ashland University

AHG 505A:

The Progressive Era

Sunday, June 29 to Friday, July 4, 2008

Instructors: John Moser and Gordon Lloyd

Course Description:

American government underwent major changes in the twentieth century as a result of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. These changes, in many ways, continue to define American politics and society today. But the political principles that drove the New Deal and the Great Society did not originate with FDR or Johnson; they were introduced into America by the Progressives of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This course will examine the political principles of the Progressive movement in America and will address both the historical developments that gave rise to Progressivism and the consequences of the Progressive movement for the course of American history. The course will concentrate on prominent national Progressives such as Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, John Dewey, and Herbert Croly. It will also seek to understand the way in which Progressivism has influenced not only American domestic policy, but foreign policy as well; and particular attention will be paid to World War I and its relevance today for thinking about America's relationship to the rest of the world.

Learning Objectives:

Course Requirements:

Students auditing the course as a part of a Teaching American History Grant program must complete the readings and fully participate in the seminars during the week.

Required Texts:

Schedule

Sunday, June 29

4:30 - 6:00pm:
Session 1 – Introduction to the Progressive Era (Professor Moser)

Focus:

Who were the Progressives? Where and when did the Progressive Movement originate? What were the circumstances of the Progressive Era, both domestically and internationally? How did these circumstances bear on the Progressive Movement? What, if anything, did the Progressives inherit from Populism?

Readings:

7:30 - 9:00pm:
Session 2 – Ashbrook Lecture (Attendance Required)

Monday, June 30

9:00 - 10:30am:
Session 3 – The Founders' Improved Science of Politics (Professor Lloyd)

Focus:

Readings for this session focus on specific essays in The Federalist, arguably the most authoritative presentation of the American Founding. The authors of these essays argue that adoption of the Constitution is necessary to secure the principles of the Declaration. They claim to have discovered a republican remedy for the ills of republicanism. What are these ills and what are the remedies? Would the Progressives agree or disagree with the claim? Are the ideas of the Founders still coherent and relevant in the twenty-first century? Is it time that we get beyond checks and balances and separation of powers?

Readings:

10:50am - 12:20pm:
Session 4 – Progressive Interpretations of History (Professor Moser)

Focus:

What criteria might define an historian as a Progressive? Do Turner and Beard differ in their Progressive assessments of America? How has Turner's understanding of history changed from the first essay to the second?

Readings:

1:45 - 3:15pm:
Session 5 – Tocqueville's New Science of Politics (Professor Lloyd)

Focus:

Readings for this session will focus on Volume II, Part II of Democracy in America, where Tocqueville examines the "influence of Democracy on the feelings of Americans." Tocqueville argues that the modern world is fundamentally different from the pre-modern world. He warns that a new form of despotism is likely if the balance between the competing claims of equality and liberty is not achieved. He claims that Americans resolve the competing claims through decentralized administration, voluntary associations, and the spread of "practical" religion. Would the Progressives agree or disagree with his claim? Are his ideas still coherent and relevant in the twenty-first century? Is it time that we get beyond the notion that the government is the problem?

Reading:

  • Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Volume II, Part II

Tuesday, July 1

9:00 - 10:30am:
Session 6 – Progressivism & Education (Professor Moser)

Focus:

Did Dewey posit a purely utilitarian approach to education? What place, if any, did the past have in his view? Is there room for religious faith in Dewey's social and/or educational views? Why or why not?

Readings:

10:50am - 12:20pm:
Session 7 – Herbert Croly's American Dream (Professor Lloyd)

Focus:

Readings for this session will focus on four chapters from Herbert Croly's 1909 influential work defending the Progressive agenda. Croly argues that twentieth century America is critically different from the Founding period. What does Croly mean by "the promise of American life," and why is that promise not being fulfilled? Where does he stand on the Tocqueville warning and the Founders' optimism? Does he think human nature is basically rotten or is there really a given a human nature? What are his views on the Madison model of economic competition?

Reading:

  • Croly, The Promise of American Life, Chapters I, VI, XII, XIII.

1:45 - 3:15pm:
Session 8 – Progressivism & Empire (Professor Moser)

Focus:

How did Progressive ideas translate into an agenda for foreign policy? Did they necessarily dictate a policy of imperialism? What role did race play in the Progressives' views on this subject?

Readings:

Wednesday, July 2

9:00 - 10:30am:
Session 9 – Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Agenda (Professor Lloyd)

Focus:

Theodore Roosevelt is generally considered to have been the first progressive president. What attitudes did he bring to the office to justify his historical reputation? To what extent did he carry out the progressive agenda?

Readings:

10:50am - 12:20pm:
Session 10 – The Taft Administration and the Election of 1912 (Professor Moser)

Focus:

Although Taft was Roosevelt's choice to succeed him in the White House, he would ultimately prove a disappointment to most progressives. Were they justified in their view? How did the election of 1912 demonstrate the fault lines in progressivism? In particular, how did the "New Nationalism" differ from the "New Freedom"?

Readings:

1:45 - 3:15pm:
Session 11 – Woodrow Wilson's New Science of Administration (Professor Lloyd)

Focus:

Which founding principles did Wilson believe were outdated, or inadequate to deal with the circumstances of his times? What did he think about the principles that informed the Constitution, and the individuals who wrote it? How did Wilson's ideas translate into proposals for reforming national political institutions? What did he think of Congress, the Presidency, the judiciary, and the party system? How did all of this factor into his "New Freedom" agenda?

Readings:

Thursday, July 3

9:00 - 10:30am:
Session 12 – Progressives at War (Professor Moser)

Focus:

Why did Wilson take the country to war in 1917? What progressive arguments were used for and against the war? How did Wilson's approach to peace divide the progressives?

Readings:

10:50am - 12:20pm:
Session 13 – The 1920s: Repudiation or Triumph of Progressivism? (Professor Moser)

Focus:

Did the 1920s represent a repudiation of progressive reform, or the ultimate triumph of progressive sentiments? What elements of progressive concern seem to have been rejected during this period, and which were embraced?

Readings:

1:45 - 3:15pm:
Session 14 – Progressives and Overcoming "Fear Itself" (Professor Lloyd)

Focus:

This session will focus on the events and speeches leading up to the 1932 election and the inauguration of the New Deal. What are the similarities and differences between Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's conception of the proper role of the federal government? What was at stake in the election of 1932? Was the New Deal a comprehensive program intent on solving America's economic woes, or was it simply a bundle of ad hoc propositions? The FDR readings include explicit references (by Roosevelt) to the "New Deal," and all of Roosevelt's speeches here lay out a bold plan for the potential of federal government intervention in the economy and in society. The readings from Hoover accentuate his conviction that "bold experimentation" is the wrong approach to solving the country's problems.

Reading:

  • Gordon Lloyd, The Two Faces of Liberalism: How the Hoover-Roosevelt Debate Shapes the 21st Century (Scrivener, 2007), pp.35-53, 66-75, 95-129, 154-174, 181-189, 201-211.

Friday, July 4

9:00 - 10:30am:
Session 15 – Progressives and the "Challenge to Liberty" (Professor Lloyd)

Focus:

This session will consider one of the least appreciated aspects of the New Deal conversation; that is, Herbert Hoover's campaigning against New Deal policy long after Roosevelt had defeated him. In particular, this second phase of the Hoover-FDR exchange raises several questions: What is the relationship between political liberty and economic liberty? Does the spectre of class struggle and revolution haunt the exchange? Do they agree in their understanding of "equality of opportunity" and the role the federal government must play in securing this goal? What was the balance between equality and liberty under the New Deal? What are we to make of FDR's "Court Packing" Plan and their respective positions on the role of the judiciary?

Reading:

  • Gordon Lloyd, The Two Faces of Liberalism: How the Hoover-Roosevelt Debate Shapes the 21st Century (Scrivener, 2007), pp. 257-280, 307-327, 332-342, 350-364, 375-386, 392-415.

10:50am - 12:20pm:
Session 16 – Review Session (Professors Moser and Lloyd)

1:30 - 3:00pm:
Session 17 – Final Examination