The Tyranny of Change: America in the Progressive Era, 1890-1920 (The St. Martin's Series in 20th-Century U.S. History) (Paperback)

by John Whiteclay, II Chambers (Author) "America prides itself on progress, and there was a great sense of national exhilaration in many of the developments of the final quarter of the..." (more)
Key Phrases: conservative interventionists, unrestricted individualism, social justice progressives, United States, Progressive Era, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This book describes and analyzes America during the "Progressive Era" - a time that saw the country's transformation into a modern, urban, industrial society. Using an organizing theme of "new interventionism" - the unprecedented willingness of Americans of the time to become actively involved with the economy, society and world affairs - the book examines the economic, social, political and international shifts that resulted from modernization. It covers all major events and historical figures of the period, including detail on all the major legislation and other domestic and foreign governmental actions. The author received the Best Book Award from the Society for Military History for "To Raise an Army: The Draft Comes to Modern America".

From the Back Cover
Between 1890 and 1920, the forces accompanying industrialization sent the familiar nineteenth-century world plummeting toward extinction. The traditional countryside , with its villages and family farms, was eclipsed by giant corporations and sprawling cities.

In lively, accessible prose, John Chambers incorporates into his book the latest scholarship about the social, cultural, political, and economic changes that produced modern America. He illuminates the experiences of blacks, Asians, Latinos, as well as other working men and women in the cities and countryside, as they struggled to improve their lives in a transformed economy.

Striding these pages are many of the prominent individuals who shaped the attitudes and institutions of modern America: J.P. Morgan and corporate reorganization; Jane Addams and the origin of modern social work; Mary Pickford and the new star-oriented motion picture industry; and the radical laor challenge of "Big Bill" Haywood and the "Wobblies."

While recognizing a 'progressive ethos'- a mixture of idealistic vision and pragmatic reforms that characterized the period- Chambers elaborates the role of civic volunteerism as well as the state in achieving directed social change. He also emphasizes the importance of radical and conservative forces in shaping the so-called "Progressive Era."

The revised edition of this classic work has an updated bibliography and a new preface, both of which incorporate the new social and cultural research of the past decade. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 2 edition (March 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312036345
• ISBN-13: 978-0312036348
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
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• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,197,567 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)