Curriculum Guide
Guide and Notes
Concept:
The Progressive Rejection of the Founding
and the Rise of Bureaucratic Despotism
Overview of this concept:
The principles of the
American Founding, embodied in the Declaration of Independence and enshrined in
the Constitution, came under assault by Progressives of the late nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries. Progressivism rejects the Founders’ ideas of natural
rights, limited government, and the separation of powers, representation, and
federalism. Progressive government, exemplified by the modern administrative
state, has fundamentally transformed key aspects of the American way of life.
Progressives taught
that stringent restrictions on government power were no longer necessary to
protect liberty, since human nature and science had advanced greatly during the
19th century. Progressives did not believe that individuals are endowed with inalienable
rights by a Creator; rather, they believed that rights are determined by social
expediency and bestowed by the government. In conjunction with this new theory
of rights, Progressivism holds that government must be able to adapt to
ever-changing historical circumstances.
One of the important
events that led to greater progressive involvement in American life came with
the test of disaster relief. On Sept. 8, 1900, an unnamed hurricane slammed into the
unprotected barrier island of Galveston, Texas, killing between 6,000 and 8,000
people. More than 111 years later, the natural disaster stands as the worst in
the history of the United States. Citizens were viewed as incapable of taking
care of themselves and middle-class reformers substituted Federal government
assistance instead of the individuals, families, communities, and local
government self-reliance.
In addition to reshaping the political process in order to ensure that
middle-class goals were more easily met, reformers also sought measures to ensure
that the right person got the right job. Sometimes this impulse meant that
Progressive reformers made certain government positions exempt from voting
altogether. One chronic complaint against city political machines was that
important administrative posts always went to friends of the “bosses” rather
than to experts, and middle-class Progressives wanted to make sure their values
were implemented.
To get rid of cronyism, most Progressives supported the creation of a
professional corps of administrators. The corps required anyone who wanted a
government job to take a competitive exam. Only those who passed could get a
job, and only those who excelled could rise to influential, decision making
positions. Ideally, no matter what political party won each new election,
jobholders would be allowed to maintain their positions. This system claimed to
provide continuity and efficiency rather than a chaotic turnover of personnel
each time a new party came into office.
Progress
of Reforms
One by one, states adopted these various reforms, mostly beginning in the
West and the Midwest. In Wisconsin at the turn of the century, Robert “Battling
Bob” La Follette, the first Progressive governor of Wisconsin and a Republican
most of his life, created a Legislative Reference Bureau that became known as
the “Wisconsin Idea.” It was a board of experts such as Richard T. Ely, who
ensured sound drafting of Wisconsin’s laws for such things as worker’s
compensation, government regulation of railroad companies, and conservation of
natural resources. The keys to reform were appointed commissions of experts
working in the name of civil service.
New York City,
where political machines remained strong, also changed local politics. In
response to residents’ complaints, and in the aftermath of the Triangle
Shirtwaist Company Fire, leaders of Tammany Hall began to advocate moderate
reforms. These included the abolition of child labor and the improvement of
safety standards in the workplace.
Student Sources/Handouts that will be used for
discussion/evaluation for this concept (in order of introduction)
Overarching Questions/Themes Students will be evaluating at the end of this
unit:
- In
what ways did Progressives reject the principles of the American Founding?
- Why
is it important for us today to know about the Progressive rejection of
the Declaration of Independence and the Progressive concept of rights?
- Many of the
critiques of the King listed in the Declaration of Independence have
become features of the modern bureaucratic state.
- What
does Woodrow Wilson mean when he states that government should be
accountable to Darwin instead of Newton? What does this accountability to
Darwin have to do with the idea of a living Constitution?
·
Why did Progressives
believe that America needs to move beyond the principles of the Founding?
·
Which person, who served
as president of Princeton University, governor of New Jersey, and as America’s
28th president, was one of the earliest Progressive thinkers?
·
What was the 28th
president’s critique of the Founding?
·
What were the most
articulate expressions of the Progressive movement’s core beliefs?
·
What did Woodrow Wilson
argue about the separation of powers established by the Constitution?
·
How did Wilson seek to
render government more accountable to public opinion? Wilson held that the
business of politics—namely, elections—should be separated from the
administration of government, which would be overseen by nonpartisan, and
therefore neutral, experts. The president, as the only nationally elected
public official, best embodies the will of the people, resulting in a
legislative mandate.
·
How does Progressivism
represent a radical departure from the Founders’ understanding of the purpose
and ends of government?
·
Compare and contrast the
arguments of the Founders and of the Progressives regarding six key principles
of government: the meaning of freedom; the purpose of government arising from
the meaning of freedom; the elements of domestic policy; the extent of foreign
policy; the centrality of the consent of the governed; and the size and scope
of government.
·
How is Progressivism not
a logical outcome of the Founders’ principles, but rather a conscious rejection
of them?
Additional Resources for Teacher:
History of
a Free Nation, Chapters 23-24
Day 1
Objectives:
·
SWBAT to relate how Progressives differ
from the principles of the American Founding.
Student Sources/Handouts that will
be used for discussion/evaluation for this lesson:
Review—Key Question (s)
·
What
rights are those summed up in the American Declaration of Independence? (The rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness. Among the natural rights is that of property, originating,
according to the Declaration, in the fact that an individual has produced value
through his labor within society).
·
What are
three historical circumstances of the late nineteenth century that Progressives
look to when arguing that the principles of the American Founding were no
longer operative or valid? (Industrialization,
Immigration, and Economic conditions).
·
The Election
of 1912 was contested among three political parties. What was the third party,
led by Theodore Roosevelt? (The
Progressive Party).
·
Which
American President caused Woodrow Wilson to turn his attention from the
Congress to the Executive branch as the best means of achieving Progressive
policy goals? (Theodore Roosevelt)
·
Up
until the Progressive Era did the U.S. federal government get involved in local
affairs? Why not? (Largely not since
individuals and voluntary associations handled local problems).
·
What
European religious movement favored individualism and personal responsibility,
in short, the theory of individual natural rights? (Source #2, the Protestant Reformation).
·
What
are the three co-equal branches of government in the Constitution?
·
What
is the classic definition of socialism?
Suggested Key Discussion Points/Questions:
·
Guide students in a discussion of the
Declaration of Independence and the original ideas of liberty in the American
Founding documents.
·
The Declaration of Independence refers to
the “Laws of Nature and of ___________” (Nature’s
God).
·
What is the primary purpose of government,
according to the Declaration of Independence? (Securing natural rights).
·
The Declaration of Independence lists three
fundamental natural rights. They are: (Life,
Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness).
·
What self-evident truth, named in the
Declaration of Independence, was at stake in the Civil War? (Equality).
·
What do Progressives understand by the word
“equality”? (All human beings have the
right to possess economic and material equality).
·
The American Founders and the Progressives disagreed about their
definition of equality; they are incompatible.
·
Identify three key structures of the
Constitution that are included as grievances against the King in the
Declaration of Independence. (Limited
government, Representation, and Checks and Balances).
·
The Progressives rejected the idea of a government limited in
purpose to the security of individual rights.
·
How does administrative government
contradict the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? (It takes sovereignty away from the people;
it rejects the idea of limited government; it ignores the doctrine of
separation of powers.)
·
Progressivism has some roots in the pro-slavery arguments of the
pre-Civil War South, insofar as both believe that modern science renders the
principles of the American Founding invalid.
·
Progressives believe that the scientific guidance of government
can improve—and even perfect—human nature.
·
Progressivism may be defined as a
philosophical movement intent on “progressing” or moving beyond the principles
and practices of the American Founding.
·
Progressives do not believe that natural
rights exist.
·
The core Progressive doctrine of
“historical contingency” means that there are no permanent or immutable
principles. Rather, truth is dependent upon the particular circumstances of
history.
·
Progressive philosophy is predicated on the belief that human
nature is changeable.
·
The Progressives did not share the
Founders’ fear of direct democracy.
·
Progressive proposals aimed at increasing
direct democracy included Referenda, Ballot Initiative, and Recall.
·
The Progressives wanted government to
respond quickly and efficiently to the peoples’ demands.
·
The Progressives believed the old
Constitution to be both “irresponsible” and “Inefficient."
·
The Progressives did not argue that the
unelected administrative state should be modified and or otherwise affected by
elections and politics.
·
One
of the important events that led to greater progressive involvement in American
life came with the test of disaster relief. Read
Source #1
o
On Sept. 8, 1900, an unnamed hurricane slammed into the
unprotected barrier island of Galveston, Texas, killing between 6,000 and 8,000
people.
o
More than 111 years later, the natural disaster stands as
the worst in the history of the United States.
o
Who should help in cases of public welfare and safety
such as hurricanes and natural disasters?
o
Citizens were viewed as incapable of taking care of
themselves and middle-class reformers substituted Federal government assistance
instead of the individuals, families, communities, and local government
self-reliance.
·
Before the Progressive Era, how would
people deal with the tragedy?
·
During the Progressive Era, how would a
progressive deal with the tragedy?
·
What is the difference between the two ways
to handle a tragedy?
·
Should the federal government
be involved in disaster relief? Why or why not?
Ø Who is qualified to be in government service?
Ø How should government workers be
appointed and by whom?
·
What clause in the Constitution is invoked
by liberals to justify the idea that government might and should be an
instrument for securing and extending the liberties of individuals? (Source #1 the “public welfare” clause).
·
What type of liberty is this? (Source #1 actual as distinct from merely
legal liberty).
·
What characterizes the existing order? (Source #1 brutalities and inequities).
·
How does government right the wrongs in the
existing order? (Source #1 productivity
is cooperatively controlled in the interest of effective liberty and cultural
development).
·
What is the remedy? (Source #1 organized social planning, industry and finance are socially
directed for the cultural liberation and growth of individuals).
·
To be objective progressives argued that government
positions should be exempt from voting altogether. Why?
·
Before Civil Service reform how were
government employees appointed?
·
Should administrative posts go to the friends
of the “bosses”?
·
Should experts run the government?
·
Guide students in a discussion of the
progressive ideas of liberty.
·
According to Goodnow, what moral and
religious influence characterized the Founder’s view of individualism? Read Source #2
·
What historical developments have ushered
in a new constitution? (Source #2 end of
the pioneer era, new forms of communication, transportation, accumulation of
capital, concentration of industry, loss of personal relations between employer
and employed).
·
What
happens when the sphere of governmental action increases? (Source #2 brings about a constitution of society beyond the wildest
dreams of the Founders and widens the sphere of governmental actions).
·
What
happens to individual private rights as a result? (Source #2 individual private rights are increasingly narrowed).
·
What is socialism according to Wilson? Read
Source #3 (Members of every community find employment for which they are best
suited and rewarded according to diligence and merit).
·
Moral influence is secured by what? (Source #3 the public
authority).
·
What is the public authority? (Source #3, various
answers since Wilson does not make this clear).
·
Are there any limits or checks and balances to
public authority? (Source #3, this Wilson does make clear. There are no limits or checks
and balances to public authority. Public authority is not limited by individual
rights. The State can cross private and public affairs at will).
·
What is the difference between socialism and democracy?
(Source #3 there is no essential difference. The motives are the same.)
·
Since the contest is no longer between government
and individuals where is it? (Source #3 between government and dangerous
combinations and individuals).
·
According to Wilson what is progress? Read
Source #4
·
In pre-modern times, where did people look, the
past or the future? (Source #4 the past with heroes, glory, tales, heavy
armor, and larger spear. The past was filled with giants.)
·
In modern times where do people look? (Source #4
people look not to the past but to the future, something new).
·
Does the progressive preserve the essentials of our
institutions? (Source #4 yes).
·
How does the progressive preserve the essentials? (Source
#4 Wilson does not say but he believes it to be true).
·
And, why should scientific progress mean a change
in government? (Source #4 the Constitution was made under the dominion of the Newtonian machine-like
conception of science which means it is out of date).
·
What is the trouble with the Newtonian theory? (Source
#4 government is not a machine but it is a living thing).
·
What theory should be preferred and accountable to
whom? (Source #4 the theory of organic life, accountable to Darwin).
·
What does Wilson mean by a living Constitution? (Source
#4 various, but surely he means that the Constitution should be pliable,
changeable, and not fixed).
·
True or False, Woodrow Wilson believed
that, while the Constitution is insufficient, the principles of the Declaration
of Independence remain valid. (False).
·
In “What is Progress?” Woodrow Wilson means
that some citizens of this country have never got beyond the Declaration of
Independence
·
Wilson believed that checks and balances
were irrelevant in the modern world because faction, as Publius called it in
Federalist 10, was no longer a problem.
·
Woodrow Wilson praised constitutions with a
lack of separation of powers such as the kind that the British had.
·
Wilson states that each generation should
define terms such as liberty, rights, and equality for itself, rather than referring
to the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution.
Follow-up/Assessment
Questions:
·
Explain the difference between the original
meaning of the Declaration and the Founder’s ideas and that of the Progressives
when it comes to liberty, disaster relief, and government service.
Prompt Question for Next Lesson:
·
What are the core beliefs of Progressivism?
Day 2
Objectives:
·
SWBAT understand the core beliefs of
Progressivism and who articulated the critique of the Founding, rejection of
the Declaration of Independence, and the separation of powers.
Sources/Handouts that will be used
for discussion/evaluation for this lesson:
Review—Key Question (s):
·
Before the Progressive Era, how did
individuals solve their problems?
·
Why didn’t people appeal to the Federal
government for assistance?
·
How was the smaller Federal government
funded before the Progressive period?
·
After, how was the Federal government
funded?
Suggested Key Discussion Points/Questions
·
Woodrow Wilson wrote of the separation of
powers that “no living thing can have its organs offset against each other and
live.”
·
Woodrow Wilson referred to the Founders'
Constitution as “Newtonian” and the Progressive Constitution as Living,
Darwinian, and Evolutionary.
·
What two scientific theories does Wilson
contrast? What does he mean by this contrast? (Wilson contrasts the Newtonian world view and the Darwinian. Just as
Newton has been superseded by Darwin a constitution written for Newtonian
mechanics is no longer relevant for a modern Darwinian point of view. The
original Constitution is out of date and needs to be revised.)
·
As a result, political constitutions,
society, and nations are what? (Wilson
argues that these things are alive and accountable to Darwin. These are living
things, not machines, and as living organisms they must develop and grow).
o Political constitutions, society, and nations are not machines.
·
Why does Wilson think that he is a true
Jeffersonian? (Source #5 to translate the
terms of the abstract Declaration of Independence into the language and
problems of his day).
·
How does Wilson intend to realize the
conceptions of the author of the Declaration of Independence in his day? (Source #5 Wilson wants a new preface, table
of contents, new indictment, in short, he wants an updated Constitution).
·
What is the problem of modern democracy
according to Wilson? (Source #5 he wants
to dissolve the partnership between the machine and the corporations; this is
the new Jeffersonian constitution).
·
Does Wilson think of past generations or of
the future; and, what does he want to advance? (Source #5 he looks to the future and the advancement of the rights of
mankind).
·
According to Wilson, what does each
generation need to do in regards to liberty? (Source #6 each generation must form its own conception of what liberty
is).
·
How many generations did Jefferson address?
(Source #6 Jefferson did not dictate the
aims and objects of any generation but their own).
·
What was the principle of the American
Revolution? (Source #6 the principle of
individual liberty).
·
Government guarded individual rights but
did it undertake to exercise rights for individuals? (Source #6 no it did not).
·
Does the theoretical Declaration apply
today? (Source #6 no, because we have our
own purposes, principles, and forms of power which are likely to affect our
safety and happiness).
·
From generation to generation, who is the
unifying force in our complex system? (Source
#7 the president).
·
What two things does he lead? (Source #7 Wilson says that the president is
leader both of his party and the nation).
·
Why can the one political leader, the
president, represent the nation? (Source
#7 the nation as a whole has chosen him, he is the only national voice, no
single force can withstand him, and no combination of forces will easily
overpower him. He represents the whole people. He has no special interest
except the national thought. The people crave a single leader. People choose a
man rather than a party. He can form the country to his own views.)
·
What does he mean that Pennsylvania Avenue
should be longer and that there should be more “intimate communication” between
the Capitol and the White House? (Source
#7 he means that the president should be at liberty to persuade, if not
dominate, Congress.)
·
Is the president restricted by law and the
Constitution? (Source #7 no, both in law
and conscience he can be as big a man as he can. Only his capacity will set a
limit. If Congress is overcome it is not because of the Constitution or lack of
constitutional powers on his part. The president is backed by the nation; the
Congress is not.)
·
As the president’s duties grow should he do
more administration, direct, legislate, and act? (Source #7 yes, the president should not separate powers and offer
legislation).
·
As the president’s duties increase what
else should increase? (Source #7 the
president’s administration, less as executives [per the Constitution], and more
as directors and leaders of the nation).
·
Does Wilson believe in the three separate
branches of government? (Source #7 no, he
thinks the executive, the president, should legislate as part of the living,
breathing constitution).
·
Woodrow Wilson argued that the President
should be able to mold, shape, and transform his office and his power however
he saw fit, without any meaningful constitutional limitations. (Source #7).
·
The concept of a Presidential legislative
“mandate” arises from the Progressive understanding of the Presidency. (Source #7).
·
According to Wilson, we are not framing a
constitution but what do we need and what should we do? (Source #8 we need a science of administration and run a constitution).
·
Government today is now simple or complex? (Source #8 complex with scores of masters).
And, now with complex government, what do we need? (Source #8 administration to handle the complexity of modern
government).
·
What must we now follow? (Source #8 the views of the nation).
·
What was rotten fifty years ago? (Source #8 the civil service).
·
What has delayed us? (Source #8 the flawed constitution has delayed us).
·
Administration lies outside what? (Source #8 the proper sphere of politics and
removed from it).
·
Is administration political? (Source #8 no).
·
When can bureaucracy exist? (Source #8 when the state is removed from
the political life of the people and its objects, policy, and standards must be
bureaucratic).
·
What new type of civil service is Wilson
proposing? (Source #8 one that is
cultured, self-sufficient, acting with sense and vigor yet connected to popular
thought by elections and public counsel).
·
What modern conception of government is
Wilson proposing? (Source #8 he proposes
the interlacing of local and federal self-government).
·
Woodrow Wilson wrote that public opinion
should be “efficient” in establishing the administrative state, but not
“meddlesome” in the bureaucracy’s day-to-day affairs. Source #8
Follow-up/Assessment Questions:
·
How do you evaluate the strength or
weakness of Wilson’s argument?
·
Is the Constitution a living, breathing,
Darwinian document?
·
Is the Constitution irrelevant for a
scientific age?
Prompt Question for the Next Lesson:
·
How did Progressive
ideas also impact state and local administration?
History, Grade 8
Student Sources
Supplement __
The Progressive Era
2.
Source #2 (Excerpt from The American
Conception of Liberty – Frank Goodnow)
5.
"Address
to the Jefferson Club of Los Angeles" (excerpt), Woodrow Wilson
6.
The Author and Signers of the Declaration
of Independence, Woodrow Wilson
7. Woodrow Wilson - "The
President of the United States"
8.
8.
The Study of Administration Woodrow Wilson