Who Sparked the Fire in the Progressive Movement?

The progressive era lasted from the 1890s to the 1920s. The idea of the progressive movement was to purify government. Much of the work done during the progressive movement was considered Progressive Reform. Also during this era was the idea of achieving greater efficiency in the work place. There are two strong opinions on who sparked and fueled the movements during this era. Maureen Flanagan believed it to be the women, and Shelton Stromquist thought it to be the working labor force.

From Gender and Urban Political Reform: The City Club and the Women’s City Club of Chicago in the Progressive Era, by Maureen Flanagan you can see that gender played a role in the movement. According to Flanagan men and women “took opposing positions on several current municipal issues”. Men tended to focus on the idea of business improvement and expansion, whereas women focused on the interests of the people. Flanagan believed that it was groups such as the Women’s Club in Chicago, which truly pushed the movement. The women’s clubs attacked problems in sanitation and education. They also pushed for more assistance from the government with these issues. ¹

Although women may have had an impact in politics I don’t believe their impact was as great as it could have been. Women lacked the right to vote until the 1920s so their influence was limited, although women did play a big role through back door politics, by influencing and persuading the votes of their husbands.

It’s evident that Stromquist doesn’t feel it was the women that influenced the era. In The Crucible of Class: Cleveland Politics and the Origins of Municipal Reform in the Progressive Era by Shelton Stromquist, he writes about the labor force being the drive of the Progressive movement. The work force of immigrants and unions were the ones that had the real power, according to Stromquist. Through strikes and revolts the working class demanded reform in the work place and better representation. The rise of the labor union gave the common worker a stronger voice to be heard by the government. ²

I feel that it took both groups to truly push for the progressive movement to get anything done. Although the women didn’t have the power they needed through the right to vote, they united and voiced their opinions. The work force as well came together forming unions and began to strike in demand of better work conditions. It took both groups to spark the fire of change in the United States.

[1] Maureen A. Flanagan, “Gender and Urban Political Reform: The City Club and the Woman’s City Club of Chicago in the Progressive Era,” The American Historical Review 95 (1990): 1048, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2163477.

[2] Shelton Stromquist, “The Crucible of Class: Cleveland Politics and the Origins of Municipal Reform in the Progressive Era,” Journal of Urban History 23 (1997): 194, http://juh.sagepub.com/content/23/2/192.citation.

Cartoon Politics

The political cartoon to the left was published in 1864 during the presidential campaign. It depicts three men, two of whom are fighting over a flag. To the left is Abraham Lincoln who says “No peace without Abolition!” To the right is Jefferson Davis quoted saying “No peace without Separation!” Between them stands General George McClellan who is saying “The Union must be preserved at all hazards!” The cartoon is titled The True Issue or “That’s Whats the Matter”

 The political cartoon shows the struggle between the leadership in the United States during the civil war. The 1864 election occurred toward the end of the war. It was ultimately a deciding factor in the outcome of the war. The map in the cartoon is that of America in 1864. It shows a tear down the middle from the two men pulling at it.

To the left of the map are the Northern states whom were still apart of the union. These states were still under rule of the American government. At the time President Lincoln was in office. Lincoln had strong feelings about the abolishment of slavery.

To the right of the map were the southern states that by this time had created their own Confederate States of America lead by President Jefferson Davis. The south was predominantly farmers who utilized slaves for larger profit margins. The idea of abolishing slavery could potentially destroy the southern economy. The southern states seceded from the union to preserve their right to slavery and ultimately their state rights.

In the middle of the two men holding them in each fist preventing them from tearing apart the entire map is General McClellan. McClellan ran against Lincoln in the 1864 election. He believed that the nation should stay a together under all costs. McClellan was a pro-war democrat that sought restoration of the nation.

The cartoon tries to convey that Lincoln and Davis were more worried about their needs than the need of the nation. It depicts Lincoln as though he would tear apart the country to preserve the idea of abolition and the same is true for Davis and the idea of Separation. The cartoon uses McClellan as the strength that holds the two men and the two halves of the map (country) together. It’s evident that this was a pro-democrat cartoon by the use of McClellan as the right of two wrongs.


  
“The True Issue or That’s Whats the Matter,” http://loc.harpweek.com/LCPoliticalCartoons/IndexDisplayCartoonMedium.asp?SourceIndex=People&IndexText=McClellan%2C+George+B%2E&UniqueID=40&Year=1864 (accessed February 14, 2012).
 
"Boston Public Library Exhibit" http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2011/05/by_peter_schwor_8.html (accessed February 14, 2012).

"The Election of 1864" http://www.ushistory.org/us/34e.asp (accessed February 14, 2012).