American Progressivism

American progressivism is arguably the most misunderstood political movement in United States history, but its impact is unmistakable. They won. Almost every aspect of American society has been affected by the progressive movement. Even the American right speaks in progressive terms. This has much to do with their hero, Abraham Lincoln, but also with their infatuation with Alexander Hamilton and the strong centralized government both men favored. Progressives advanced a militaristic society and hid their agenda behind language. Reform became democracy, education, nationalism, or a host of other popular terms. They sold it as a positive approach to contemporary problems and believed the traditional order needed to be scrapped for a new ideology. Technology, industrialization, and Darwinism led progressive to believe that humanity could be perfected, like a machine.

This class examines the intellectual progressive movement from the late nineteenth through the early twentieth century by reviewing several primary source documents, from unknown intellectuals like Henry George and Herbert Croly to major political figures like Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.

Progressives and their ideological desires have not changed in over 100 years. This class provides the knowledge necessary to refute their dangerous dogma.