Who is A Progressive
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Who is A Progressive?
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Who is A Progressive?
To say that Franklin D. Roosevelt was one of the greatest and most well-known
presidents in history is an understatement. He revitalized the office of the presidency with his
dynamic leadership of Congress and the American people in pursuit of progressive reforms and a
robust foreign policy. He believed that barring prohibitions in law or the Constitution, the
President, as a "caretaker of the people," should do whatever is required for the common welfare.
He said, "I did not take authority, but I did substantially widen the use of executive authority"
(Drexler, 2022). April of 1912, he delivered a talk titled "Who is a Progressive?" And went into
great into explaining what exactly Progressiveness is and how it works.
Question 1
During his address, Roosevelt made the following statement: "To everybody who bravely
and effectively challenges privilege in whatever form, the Progressive Mantle must be passed
on" (Lowitt, 2019). Roosevelt is attempting to convey to us that progressives are those who
struggle and stand for forward development, inspirational individuals who develop for the
people, and individuals who trust the people. In general, the activity of the progressive period
was centered on the reform of the government, modernization, the improvement of family life
and education, restriction, and the gaining of voting rights for women.
Question 2
People who completely lack respect for human dignity are known as anti-progressives.
They are opposed to the progressive people in every way. They are motivated only by self-
interest and will use their authority in brutal and unethical ways. They have no regard for the
potentially negative outcomes of their behavior. For instance, they favor quarrying since it may
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result in monetary gains for them, but they are oblivious to this practice's impact on the natural
world, even though they are destroying it for their own gain. They are the kind of individuals that
put riches above all other considerations.
Question 3
As was just said, anti-progressive individuals participated in various actions. Abuse of the
environment is one of the problems. They are motivated by a desire for riches, which causes
them to misuse their position and ruin the environment. They do this for their advantage,
destroying mountains, forests, and various natural resources. The exploitation of the workforce is
another issue. It is highly cruel conduct since they are using people or treating people unjustly so
that they may gain from the efforts or work of other people. This is why it is called "using
people." Wealth disparity is another kind of activity that refers to unequal income distribution
throughout a population. Anti-progressives are notorious for abusing their positions of power to
deny others the opportunity to earn a living wage and isolate them from their communities. It is a
display of both selfishness and greed on their part.
Question 4
Roosevelt said that progressivism aimed to ensure that all forms of discrimination and
oppression would be eradicated from society. They want to safeguard society by ensuring that
everyone has access to safe, equitable working conditions. In addition, they hoped to rectify
environmental concerns by ensuring that major firms would not damage natural resources for
profit and by preventing unfair treatment of workers by respecting their rights and providing
them with fair compensation. In his address, Roosevelt touched on many progressive ideals. He
set out to address and resolve issues relating to society, economy, government, industry,
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immigration, and bad administration. By limiting the number of hours a kid could or should
work and improving living conditions in overcrowded urban areas, he helped stop child labor
and corruption. Milkis claims that "many of his economic revolutionaries advocated the removal
of unjust ownership and poor trusts, modification, and regulation of the industry, stopping
immoral labor abuses, health and safety standards, and safeguarding consumer rights" (Milkis,
2018). By employing public reformers, he made administration more suitable to the people by
trying to eliminate abuses of authority in urban democratic governance, making city
governments more efficient, and broadening political participation through electoral change like
the direct vote of legislators and woman's liberation, which means the right to vote.
Question 5
It addresses a variety of various aspects of society. As mentioned in the points that came
before this one, one example is the businesses that operate in various industries, such as those in
the manufacturing industry, as the majority of these businesses pollute the environment to make
a profit at the expense of the natural world. The progressives' goal was to alleviate and eliminate
this predicament. In addition to that, they talk about the workforce. They sought to ensure that
the workforce was handled reasonably and fairly. They must not be mistreated, and we must
ensure they are in excellent functioning condition. The well-being of the customer comes in last.
The consumption of products and services should be beneficial to everyone on an equitable
basis, and efforts should be made to improve the welfare of consumers by ensuring that
corporations can be held responsible for their actions.
Question 6
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In his speech, Roosevelt discussed the accomplishments he emphasized, one of which
was that he demonstrated to all Americans the value of social justice. In addition, he noted the
policies being formulated to fight for the rights of employees in the workforce and protect their
well-being (Houri & Ibtissam, 2022). These accomplishments follow the objectives of
progressivism as well as the traits of a progressive.
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References
Drexler, K. (2022, September 21).
Presidential Election of 1912: A Resource Guide
. Library of
Congress. Retrieved February 5, 2023, from https://guides.loc.gov/presidential-election-
1912
Houri, B. A., & Ibtissam, I. (2022). Investigating the impact of muckrakers on American society
issues in the Progressive Era (1896-1916): Ida Tarbell as a Model.
Lowitt, R. (2019, July). Roosevelt and Progressive Republicans: Friends and Foes. In
Franklin
D. Roosevelt and Congress
(pp. 7-13). Routledge.
Milkis, S., (2018). Progressivism. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/progressivism
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