American Progressivism: A Reader [Paperback]

Ronald J. Pestritto (Editor), William J. Atto (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0739123041 | ISBN-13: 978-0739123041 | Publication Date: May 2, 2008

American Progressivism is a one-volume edition of some of the most important essays, speeches, and book excerpts from the leading figures of national Progressivism. It is designed for classroom use, includes an accessible interpretive essay, and introduces each selection with a brief historical and conceptual background. The introductory essay is written with the student in mind, and addresses the important characteristics of Progressive thought and the role of Progressives in the development of the American political tradition. Students of American political thought, American politics, American history, the presidency, Congress, and political parties will find this reader to be an invaluable source for insight into Progressivism.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Pestritto and Atto have pieced together an excellent collection of essays. The progressives—from Wilson and Roosevelt to Addams and Rauschenbush—emerge clearly in this superb set of primary source essays. We can see in these essays the goals of the progressives to circumvent the Constitution and to try to centralize political power in the hands of the few. I do not know of a better collection of essays on the progressives. (Burton W. Folsom, Jr. )

The Progressive era is second in importance only to the Founding itself for a clear understanding of American political ideas and institutions. Many of the deepest debates in contemporary American political life, ranging from the authority of the Constitution, to the role of parties and interest groups, to the proper stance of the United States in world politics, are traceable back to their roots in the Progressive era. Yet we have devoted remarkably little attention to the careful analysis of Progressivism, partly because we have not looked carefully at the documents that defined “Progressivism” and served to promote it. But now, thanks to Pestritto and Atto’s thoughtful and carefully assembled anthology, this defect has been remedied. Every serious student of American politics and history will be in their debt for this excellent collection. (McClay, Wilfred M. )

This documentary collection provides a fresh and incisive analysis of seminal texts of the Progressive movement that have been uncritically accepted as timeless truths by elusive and ever-changing liberal relativists. Pestritto and Atto illuminate the intellectual vacuity of the Progessive project to substitute history for philosophy as the standard of political right in America. (Belz, Herman )

About the Author

Ronald J. Pestritto is Charles and Lucia Shipley Chair in the American Constitution at Hillsdale College and author of Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism and Woodrow Wilson: The Essential Political Writings. William J. Atto is assistant professor in the department of history at the University of Dallas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 340 pages
• Publisher: Lexington Books (May 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739123041
• ISBN-13: 978-0739123041
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #80,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #82 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Government     > Social Policy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

120 of 127 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Progressivism in the words of Progressives, May 1, 2009

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Steven A. Peterson (Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: American Progressivism: A Reader (Paperback)

Progressivism is a term that has been drained of a lot of meaning these days, as people use the term in ways that often depart from the classical version, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century and extending into the 20th century. This is an edited work, by Ronald Pestritto and William Atto, with snippets from a variety of Progressives, providing a solid sampling of exemplars of this movement. The editors note the method that they adopted (Page ix): "We have been guided in our selection of texts by a desire to focus largely on the national progressives whose writing and speeches have had an influence in shaping the politics of our own time."

The book is divided into several sections. The first, The Principles of Progressivism. Selections are come from Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and public administration scholar Frank Goodnow. The second section, Progressive Interpretation of History, features works by Frederick Jackson Turner and Charles Beard. One target of many Progressives was the Constitution, as they contended that it limited the ability of government to address major problems. Thus, questioning the Constitution was one route taken by academics. Beard, for instance, contended that the Constitution was an economic document designed to protect the property of the Founders and their allies. Part III, Social Justice, Social Gospel, and Education. One key character here is Walter Rauschenbusch, who argued that religious values spoke to the need for government to use its power for the good of the people, including limiting the power of property. John Dewey's well known work on education also appears in this segment of the book.

Part IV, Leadership and the American Presidency. What makes this part interesting is the views of Progressives who became Presidents--TR and Wilson. Other sections follow.

All in all, a pretty good selection of articles. Some of the selections are probably too short to provide the reader a good sense of the author's work. But, tough choices have to be made if you're editing a book. Too lengthy a set of items means fewer items that would appear and less of a sampling. In the end, a solid introduction to Progressives.

104 of 111 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In Their Own Words, October 6, 2009

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Prof. CJ "The Eclectic Professor" (North FL, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Progressivism: A Reader (Paperback)

You've got to wonder how many people would continue to call themselves "Progressives" if they knew what the core beliefs of that movement were REALLY all about.

Pestritto and Atto have cobbled together excerpts from some of the leading political and intellectual lights of the early American Progressive movement into one handy reference. In other words, this is a collection of primary source excerpts -- Progressive leaders in their own written and spoken words. Naturally, our two early progressive presidents, Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt, figure prominently. In addition, we get material from such leading progressives as Charles Beard, Jane Addams, Walter Rauschenbusch, John Dewey, and Herbert Croly.

As a history professor, I found this book an invaluable resource, chock-full of interesting quotes to share with my students. Many are shocked when they read/hear what the progressive leaders had to say -- even some students who considered themselves 'progressives' were noticably knocked a little off-balance ideologically to find out how much statism, naked power-worship, anti-individualism, contempt for the Constitution and checks & balances, kooky religious ideas, and racism can be found in the thoughts and words of progressive leaders. I appreciate that because I try to raise as many questions in my students' minds as I answer, and to challenge their beliefs (by the way I do the same thing to conservatives when covering other time periods, too.)

The information in this book is a total rebuttal to the standard textbook explanation that the progressives were just a bunch of people who selflessly wanted to help out the poor and disadvantaged. That's an element of progressivism, to be sure, but there's a LOT more to it than that, particularly at the levels of political and intellectual leadership.

This book will give you a much greater understanding of how our system got to be the way it is, why we deviated in the last century so much from the original focus of our country (which was liberty), and how we instead ended up with a government dominated by two parties who always and continuously increase federal power, regardless of pandering rhetoric to the contrary.

61 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great intro to a topic of continuing, and immense, importance, April 29, 2009

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Thomas Gorski (Chicago) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: American Progressivism: A Reader (Paperback)

Pestritto and Atto do an excellent job of summarizing the fundamentals of the American Progressive movement in this compilation. The selected excerpts from notable progressives of the early 20th century (Woodrow Wilson, Roosevelt, Adams, Croly, and others) go a long way to introducing the reader to the roots of progressivism via concrete sources, while supporting the more abstract defintions and explanations provided in the authors' intro. A must read for anyone concerned with modern politics and the development or erosion of liberal democracies everywhere, depending on your belief system.