Review
"An excellent case study ... Leidenberger treats both the labor activists and the middle class and professional reformers with care." -- James Barrett, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Product Description
In Chicago’s Progressive Alliance, Leidenberger tells the story of the coalition of reformers and workers advocating municipal control of Chicago’s streetcars. Why streetcars? At the time, streetcars were the main mode of transportation for Chicago’s diverse population, so common interest certainly played a factor. Workers also shared the reformers’ideology, and issues surrounding streetcars encompassed a host of Progressive concerns: the debate over the extent of state power over private service enterprises, the crusade against corruption, and the uses and public nature of city spaces. Most important, the alliance embodied Progressivism’s central ideal—overcoming class conflict and defining the public interest.
By examining the alliance’s formation, political tactics, and ultimate demise, Leidenberger offers new insights on the history of labor, class relations, and political culture in urban America. Dramatic photos of streetcars and of union laborers and their supporters accentuate this study of Progressivism in action. Chicago’s Progressive Alliance will appeal to those interested in American political history, labor history, urban history, and transportation history.
