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The Progressive Movement was an effort to cure many of the ills of American society that had developed during the great spurt of industrial growth in the last quarter of the 19th century. The frontier had been tamed, great cities and businesses developed, and an overseas empire established, but not all citizens shared in the new wealth, prestige, and optimism.

Efforts to improve society were not new to the United States in the late 1800s. A major push for change, the First Reform Era, occurred in the years before the Civil War and included efforts of social activists to reform working conditions and humanize the treatment of mentally ill people and prisoners.

Others removed themselves from society and attempted to establish utopian communities in which reforms were limited to their participants. The focal point of the early reform period was abolitionism, the drive to remove what in the eyes of many was the great moral wrong of slavery.

The second reform era began during Reconstruction and lasted until the American entry into World War I. The struggle for women`s rights and the temperance movement were the initial issues addressed. A farm movement also emerged to compensate for the declining importance of rural areas in an increasingly urbanized America.

As part of the second reform period, progressivism was rooted in the belief, certainly not shared by all, that man was capable of improving the lot of all within society. As such, it was a rejection of Social Darwinism, the position taken by many rich and powerful figures of the day.

Progressivism also was imbued with strong political overtones, and it rejected the church as the driving force for change. Specific goals included:

The success of progressivism owed much to publicity generated by the muckrakers, writers who detailed the horrors of poverty, urban slums, dangerous factory conditions, and child labor, among a host of other ills.

Successes were many, beginning with the Interstate Commerce Act (1887) and the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890). Progressives never spoke with one mind and differed sharply over the most effective means to deal with the ills generated by the trusts; some favored an activist approach to trust-busting, others preferred a regulatory approach.

A vocal minority supported socialism with government ownership of the means of production. Other progressive reforms followed in the form of a conservation movement, railroad legislation, and food and drug laws.

The progressive spirit also was evident in new amendments added to the Constitution (text), which provided for a new means to elect senators, protect society through prohibition and extend suffrage to women.

Urban problems were addressed by professional social workers who operated settlement houses as a means to protect and improve the prospects of the poor. However, efforts to place limitations on child labor were routinely thwarted by the courts. The needs of African Americans and Native Americans were poorly served or served not at all a major shortcoming of the progressive movement.

Progressive reforms were carried out not only on the national level, but in states and municipalities. Prominent governors devoted to change included Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin and Hiram Johnson of California.

Such reforms as the direct primary, secret ballot, and the initiative, referendum, and recall were effected. Local governments were strengthened by the widespread use of trained professionals, particularly with the city manager system replacing the frequently corrupt mayoral system.

Formal expression was given to progressive ideas in the form of political parties on three major occasions:

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Prairie Club of Chicago by Cathy Jean Maloney.Originally formed in 1908, as an outgrowth of the Playground Association of Chicago, the Prairie Club was incorporated as a separate entity in 1911. E...Crime, Corruption and Politics in Hull The Rise and Fall of Boss Smith's Old Ring by John Galluzzo.If you lived in Hull, Massachusetts, during the first four decades of the 20th century, you knew both the political machinations of Boss John Smith an...Social Darwinism in American Thought by Richard Hofstadter.Social Darwinism in American Thought portrays the overall influence of Darwin on American social theory and the notable battle waged among thinkers ov...Hot Time in the Old Town: The Great Heat Wave of 1896 and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt by Edward P. Kohn.One of the worst natural disasters in American history, the 1896 New York heat wave killed almost 1,500 people in ten oppressively hot days. The heat ...Scorpions: The Battles and Triumphs of FDR's Great Supreme Court Justices by Noah Feldman.As a conservative Supreme Court flexes its muscles against a Democratic president for the first time since the New Deal, a series of recent books has ...The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.For nearly a century, the original version of Upton Sinclair's classic novel, which gave impetus to the Progressive Movement, has remained almost enti...Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morris.Of all our great presidents, Theodore Roosevelt is the only one whose greatness increased out of office. When he toured Europe in 1910 as plain Colon...Pivotal Decades: The United States, 1900-1920 by John J. Cooper.These were the years in which two of our greatest presidents--Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson--transformed the office into the center of power; ...

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The Progressive Movement

Progressive lawmakers and activists are urging Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats to resist President Donald Trump's forthcoming nominee for the Supreme Court to replace Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement on Wednesday, after siding with the rest of the high court's right-wing justices onlabor unions,reproductive rights, the Trump administration's travel ban, and GOP gerrymandering.

"Failing to keep all Senate Democrats united would be a colossal failure of leadership that helps Republicans make abortion illegal, destroy our civil rights, shred the social safety net, poison the planet, and undermine our democracy."Heidi Hess, CREDO Action

In an email to supporters on Thursday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) noted that the 5-4 Muslim ban and union votes "were only possible because of the unprecedented actions of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to deny President Obama's nominee a vote ahead of the 2016 elections."

By forcing a delay in filling the seat, left vacant following Antonin Scalia's death, McConnell enabled Trump to nominate right-wingerNeil Gorsuchwho was only confirmed after Republicans rewrote the Senate's rules to reduce the number of votes needed from 60 to a simple majority.

Now, Sanders and others are calling on Senate Democrats to take a page out of the Republican playbook and block whoever Trump nominates until after the November midterm elections.

We should listen to what Sen. McConnell said in 2016. President Trump should not nominate, and the Senate should not confirm, a Supreme Court justice until the American people have had the opportunity to make their voices heard in November. https://t.co/JjyEavC3O3

Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) June 27, 2018

"By now we know that is not what we will get from Donald Trump's nominee," Sanders said. "And I believe the American people have a right to make their voices heard about that at the ballot box in November."

"I believe most Americans want a Supreme Court that will stand up for civil liberties, constitutional rights, workers' rights, environmental rights and women's rights," he concluded. "The American people deserve a Supreme Court justice who respects the rights of workers instead of bowing down to big business... a Supreme Court that will move us back in the direction of one person, one vote, and stop our slide into an oligarchy, in which the political life in this country is increasingly controlled by a handful of billionaire families."

"The American people deserve a Supreme Court justice who respects the rights of workers instead of bowing down to big business... a Supreme Court that will move us back in the direction of one person, one vote, and stop our slide into an oligarchy, in which the political life in this country is increasingly controlled by a handful of billionaire families."Sen. Bernie Sanders

While the hashtag #MidtermsBeforeSCOTUS started gaining steam on Twitter following Kennedy's annoucement, as Common Dreams reported, Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (Wis.), and Chris Murphy (Conn.) all weighed in, declaring that McConnell should follow the precedent he established when he refused to hold a vote for Obama nominee Merrick Garland.

Although Schumer said Wednesday that it would bethe "height of hypocrisy" for the Senate to vote on a candidate before the midterms, unlike progressive leaders such as Sanders and Warren, who are known for standing up to Trump and Republicans in Congress, Schumer has a well documented history of a caving to both.

"Keeping the Democratic caucus united in blocking Trump's extremism from being enshrined on the Supreme Court for a generation is a crucial test of Sen. Chuck Schumer's ability to effectively lead Senate Democrats," Heidi Hess, co-director of the activist network CREDO Action, said Thursday.

"Failing to keep all Senate Democrats united would be a colossal failure of leadership that helps Republicans make abortion illegal, destroy our civil rights, shred the social safety net, poison the planet, and undermine our democracy," Hess warned."Sen. Schumer is fully on the hook for ensuring that not a single Senate Democrat breaks ranks and hands the Supreme Court to Trump."

While progressives are keeping pressure on Schumer and Senate Democrats to block a vote, the powerful right-wing political groups bankrolled by the billionaire Koch Brotherswho are megadonors to Republican politiciansare already plotting to spend millions to support Trump's pick for the court, which is expected to be one of 25 candidates put forth by the White House in November. McConnell, for his part, said he plans to hold a Senate hearing and vote in the fall.

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'Colossal Failure of Leadership,' Warn Progressives, If ...

Paul Kengor offers a lively, yet sober, analysis of the most controversial social issue of our day, gay marriage. He traces the intellectual origins of the movement to redefine marriage, and how it has unfolded in recent times. His analysis of how the contributions of left-wing thinkers and political operatives found their way into mainstream American thought is masterful. Importantly, Kengor examines the way leading Catholic figures, such as Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, saw how the destabilization of marriage and the family was aided by, and served the interests of, Communism. This is one of the book's greatest strengths: Kengor's weaving of the political with the cultural. Takedown deserves a major place in all future discussions on this subject. (Bill Donohue, Ph.D., President Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights)

Paul Kengor does an excellent job of tying historic events and personalities together to make a coherent tale of what happened to America in the 20th century, from John Dewey and his effect on public education, to Herbert Marcuse and the Communist influence, to Betty Friedan and the feminists attack on marriage and motherhood, and to the voices of sanity from Dr. Fred Schwarz and Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. (Phyllis Schlafly, president, Eagle Forum and author of 24 books)

America has been waiting for this book. History has been waiting for it. Takedown irrefutably documents that todays leftist war against the traditional American family is rooted in Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto, which preaches the abolition [Aufhebung] of family. . . .

I am glad Paul Kenkgor is not politically correct. I hope his Takedown will hammer another nail in the coffin of Marxism.

Kengors depth of scholarship combined with a light style make Takedown a must read. He shows what Marx only dreamt of but Lenin planned and set in motion with the Frankfurt School, their academic allies (Margaret Mead, Wilhelm Reich, Herbert Marcuse), activists (Margaret Sanger, 60s feminists, The Weathermen) and finally the President of the United States. These all worked to change the Wests view of sexuality. Already they have achieved more than Marx ever dreamed of or any ordinary American thought possiblethe destruction of the American family. The fall of the Berlin Wall may have seemed like the end of Marx but he is having the last laugh as his progeny tears down the our nation, law by law and family by family. Every parent, pastor, teacher and professor needs to be given a copy of this book.

Takedown is an explosive and significant book. While I respectfully disagree with some of Professor Kengor's conclusions, his work shows that the dark dream of an all-powerful government with officially enforced equality is both a cause and effect of the weakening of the family. In the process, he exposes aspects of the international left that may shock even careful students of recent history.

Classic Kengor: researched; readable; and rivoting. This time, Paul Kengor connects the dots showing that the current push to redefine marriage is not some isolated end, but rather a coordinated means used for a larger ideological end: undermining the family and related mediating authorities so as to unleash an increasingly Leviathan State. Following the footnotes leads to one unmistakable conclusion: the Left and their Progressive friends focus on the family . . . in order to destroy it. Learn the truth; refute the error.

Very few people know how many generations the war against the family has been being fought, how intensely, how seriously. Paul Kengor, in short taut chapters, brings the outline up to date. Kengor includes many colorful first-person passages from enemies of marriage, and he pushes back with a certain brio of his own.

Everyone should read this book, especially those conservatives who think they can support genderless marriage and other alternative family forms. Paul Kengor makes very clear the Leftist and Statist, big-government roots of these ideas.

Americans will be astounded to learn the history of the movement to undo the institution and definition of marriage, and its ultimate purposes. Takedown is a powerful documentary in an accessible book, and the one most critical to engage in our time, to face what comes next.

Takedownby Paul Kengor switches on the krieg lights to expose the shadowy theoreticians and practicioners who have undermined marriage for over a century. Kengors careful research shows that the hammer used to smash the House of Marriage has been invariably accompanied by the sickle used to cut the power cables. If you want to understand the ideology behind the sudden juggernaut against the millennia-old definitions of marriage and family, get this book.

Original post:
Takedown: From Communists to Progressives, How the Left ...

But a lot has changed since Trump's victory -- starting with Rouda's party affiliation. A Republican until 1997, Rouda spent the next two decades as an independent. He and his wife donated to longtime family friend, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, during the Republican nominating contest. Rouda registered as a Democrat shortly after the 2016 election (he voted for Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama twice and Democratic nominee John Kerry before that, he said). Then, in March 2017, Rouda entered the congressional primary in his adopted home, California's 48th Congressional District, where Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is the incumbent.

He grabbed the attention of local activists with his early support of "Medicare for All," which helped him win the twin endorsements of the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United, organizations best known politically for their close alliance with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

On Wednesday, Rouda will get another boost when Indivisible -- the influential anti-Trump resistance group -- endorses him, a booming bat signal to Democrats ahead of June's "jungle primary," which advances the top two vote-getters regardless of party affiliation.

The support of Indivisible, which in less than two years has become one of the country's leading grassroots progressive organizations, confirms the Ohio-born Rouda as the Democratic favorite in the district, which like so many others in the deep blue state was initially inundated with enthusiastic, tenderfoot candidates -- enough that Democrats in other races still risk splitting their primary support, effectively canceling each other out, and inadvertently clearing the way for two Republicans onto the general election ballot.

With Indivisible's backing, Rouda moves to the forefront of a new wave of Democratic activism which has largely sought to cultivate a more ideologically progressive and geographically diverse -- slate of candidates heading into the midterm season.

"They do a better job than anyone else out there helping to provide talking points in how to properly position progressive issues. I think Our Revolution does a good job, as well," Rouda said, also making note of the Sanders-inspired political organization, which has not endorsed in the race. "You know, the mainstream Democratic Party has not been as aggressive in that language and those talking points, but that's from a sense of caution and wanting to make sure they're not pushing certain voter segments away."

"At that time (I entered), the Democratic Party was telling candidates not to be that forthright. Don't say 'Medicare for all,' say 'universal health care," Rouda recalled.

Mara Urbina, Indivisible's national political director, is the more seasoned operative charged with the delicate work of helping direct and advise the project's independently run local outposts. California's 48th district will, after Wednesday's round of endorsements are rolled out, be home to one of 15 contests with nationally backed Indivisible candidates. Those hopefuls won't receive a direct cash infusion, but the group's stamp of approval -- as voted on by its members -- is expected to key up individual donations and activist energy around the campaigns.

"One of the things we ask after you vote (to endorse nationally) is would you be willing to volunteer, and we build out that volunteer list, which is really one of the key features of the program -- that we can help with volunteer recruitment," Urbina said. "Ideally we're helping them to build capacity through this program."

The process of testing the candidates, challenging them to develop and better articulate their agendas, she added, has also helped cultivate thousands of more informed, effective supporters. The constituent town halls and policy explainer sessions, she said, "have created these super, hyper electoral influencers" -- like Indivisible Orange County 48 chairman Aaron McCall, who arranged four debates ahead of the local group's endorsement of Rouda, sorting through the candidates with something called the Voter Support Score, which ranks contestants based on a combination of total cash on-hand, money raised inside the district and total number of in-district donors.

"The Working Families Party endorsement is like a good housekeeping seal of approval for progressive voters," said Joe Dinkin of the WFP. The party, which began as a local endeavor in New York in 1998, has grown steadily since but surged in 2017 by organizing, by its own estimate, something like 1,000 "Resist Trump Tuesdays" -- often a joint effort with MoveOn.org and other groups -- in the first 100 days of the administration. It also provides most candidates who win its local endorsements some combination of campaign consultation, training and voter contact strategies.

But a hotly energized base and bumper crop of new candidates comes with complications.

DCCC national press secretary Tyler Law argued that Democrats don't have to choose between the party and the new grassroots groups.

"Voters across the country have been working hard every day to hold House Republicans accountable and flip districts blue, and the DCCC has long recognized and appreciated the unprecedented influence that the grassroots have in these races," he said. "As we've indicated all cycle, the DCCC is working closely with our allies, including the many new grassroots organizations, to ensure that there's a competitive Democrat on the ballot for voters to elect in November."

"They don't seem to be too invested in races like this and I think that's part of the problem," King said, drawing a contrast with Our Revolution. "We need to show up in places that Trump won with the exclusive populism, the white nationalist populism -- we need to come in with an inclusive, welcoming populism, talking about the same things and inviting people into the process, because we can't afford to lose people to the Trump rhetoric in places like this."

Urbina, from Indivisible, echoed that argument, boosting a logic commonplace in the progressive activist trenches, and now -- if too slowly for some -- gaining currency with the party establishment, which has invested heavily, though more quietly, in what might have been dismissed as longshot races in the pre-Trump era.

"We've seen, even as we look at patterns emerging, there is a special interest (among Democrats) in deep red places that people might look over pretty quickly," she said, adding: "We're serious about building long-term power and not just transactional power."

Read more:
Indivisible backs Rohrabacher challenger as progressives ...

In a number of races up and down the ballot in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night, progressive Democrats scored unexpected victories against incumbents and more conservative challengers.

As the party has been forced to the left in its policy stances by a fervent and enthusiastic base, a number of previous races in the era of President Trump resulted in voters selecting slightly less progressive Democrats. Last week, Richard Cordray won the Ohio Democratic gubernatorial nomination against former Rep. Dennis Kucinich. And before that, Ralph Northam defeated Tom Perriello in his Virginia Democratic gubernatorial primary and was then handily elected governor.

Yet there have been a host of contests indicating a desire for Democrats more befitting of the current political environment.

And on Tuesday, that desire won out in some places.

John Fetterman, the burly, bearded mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, won the primary for lieutenant governor, knocking off Democratic incumbent Mike Stack. Fetterman, who ran a strong Senate challenge in 2016, will now join Gov. Tom Wolfs ticket in November.

Im just coming at this in a low-key, overwhelmed, humbled place, Fetterman reportedly said as he accepted the nomination. I just want to take our message of All places matter, and Im so honored by the people of Pennsylvania to be the nominee for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania.

Recently, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) endorsed Fetterman and campaigned on his behalf.

Voters across the state were also selecting candidates who will compete in an entirely new congressional map in November, following the state Supreme Courts decision to throw out a previous partisan gerrymander. The new districts, more evenly divided reflecting Pennsylvanias swing state status, provide fertile ground for Democratic hopes of gaining the majority in the House of Representatives.

In one of the easiest potential pickup opportunities for the Democratic Party, the new 5th Congressional Districtnow represented by Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-PA), who resigned at the end of April following revelations that he had used taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment claimMary Gay Scanlon was declared the winner of the Democratic primary. Scanlon, who has a strong shot of winning the district in November, would be the only woman in the states current congressional delegation. But she will likely not be alone.

In the other district ripe for a Democrat win in November, former Allentown solicitor Susan Wild won her primary for the new 7th Congressional District, vacated by retiring Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA). She beat out John Morganelli, a district attorney and centrist Democrat who has expressed some Trump-inclined immigration views and recently scrubbed his Twitter page of tweets supportive of the president. Wild also beat African-American pastor Greg Edwards, who had the support of Sanders and a number of progressive groups.

Nowhere was the success of the left more prevalent than in the shocking statehouse victories of two members of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. Summer Lee, a first-time candidate, earned 68 percent of the vote against sitting Democratic incumbent state house Rep. Paul Costa. And Sara Innamorato, the other DSA member, got 65 percent of the vote in a separate race against Costas cousin Dom, who was first elected almost a decade ago. Two more DSA members, Elizabeth Fiedler and Kristin Seale, also won their state house primary contests.

The zeal for candidates on the left seemed to extend beyond Pennsylvania as well. In Nebraskas 2nd Congressional District, the race had not been called by midnight, but Kara Eastman was narrowly leading former Rep. Brad Ashford (D-NE) in the Democratic primary. Its a district the Democratic Party had its eyes on capturing in November, and Eastman outperformed the former congressman while campaigning on a Medicare-for-All platform.

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On the Republican side in Pennsylvania, one candidate lost out on an opportunity to serve in Congress for the second time in just two months. State Rep. Rick Saccone, who lost in a shocking upset in a special election earlier this year to Rep. Conor Lamb (D-PA), failed to win his primary in a new district that is even more favorable to Republicans.

See more here:
Progressives Score Major Victories in Pennsylvania Primaries