Blog Smith: The Progressive Rejection of the Founding and the Rise of Bureaucratic Despotism

Monthly Curriculum Guide

Teacher 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, 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 the 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 was 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 the 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 by commissions of experts working in the name of the civil service.

Fighting Bob LaFollette Film 1924, 2:14
Washington D.C. August 11, 1924
https://youtu.be/d5plfw9dV24

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)

Source #1 (Excerpt from Liberalism and Social Action - John Dewey)
Source #2 (Excerpt from The American Conception of Liberty - Frank Goodnow)
Source #3 (Excerpt from Socialism and Democracy - Woodrow Wilson)
Source #4 (Excerpt from What is Progress? - Woodrow Wilson)
Source #5 (Excerpt from Address to the Jefferson Club of Los Angeles Woodrow Wilson)
Source #6 (Excerpt from The Author and Signers of the Declaration of Independence Woodrow Wilson)
Source #7 (Excerpt from The President of the United States Woodrow Wilson)
Source #8 (Excerpt from The Study of Administration Woodrow Wilson)

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 28^th 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:

Source #1 (Excerpt from Liberalism and Social Action – John Dewey)
Source #2 (Excerpt from The American Conception of Liberty – Frank Goodnow)
Source #3 (Excerpt from Socialism and Democracy - Woodrow Wilson)
Source #4 (What is Progress? - Woodrow Wilson)

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?

One of the most striking ironies of the Progressive Era is the apparent lack of recognition for Henry Ford. Henry Ford pioneered mass production methods while paying some of the highest-paid workers of his day, long before unions were organized. He built the cars with the lowest prices and most strikingly, the legendary Model T made the automobile no longer a luxury only for the wealthy. Nonetheless, these plain facts prevail against the Progressive Era Intelligentsia who sought to control businesses and help the ordinary worker.

Prompt Question for the Next Lesson:

· How did Progressive ideas also impact state and local administration?

History

Student Sources Supplement

The Progressive Era

1. Source #1 (Excerpt from Liberalism and Social Action – John Dewey)

Full text:

https://archive.org/stream/dewey_liberalism/dewey_liberalism_djvu.txt

2. Source #2 (Excerpt from The American Conception of Liberty – Frank Goodnow)

https://constitutingamerica.org/the-american-conception-of-liberty-by-frank-goodnow-1859-1939-reprinted-from-the-u-s-constitution-a-reader-published-by-hillsdale-college/

3. Source #3 (Excerpt from Socialism and Democracy - Woodrow Wilson)

https://constitutingamerica.org/socialism-and-democracy-by-woodrow-wilson-reprinted-from-the-u-s-constitution-a-reader-published-by-hillsdale-college/