Reinventing "The People": The Progressive Movement, the Class Problem, and the Origins of Modern Liberalism

A comprehensive study of the Progressive movement, Reinventing "The People"contends that the persistence of class conflict in America challenged the very defining feature of Progressivism: its promise of social harmony through democratic renewal.  Shelton Stromquist profiles the movement's work in diverse arenas of social reform, politics, labor regulation and so-called race improvement. While these reformers emphasized different programs, they crafted a common language of social reconciliation in which an imagined civic community--"the People"--would transcend parochial class and political loyalties. But efforts to invent a society without enduring class lines marginalized new immigrants and African Americans by declaring them unprepared for civic responsibilities. In so doing, Progressives laid the foundation for twentieth-century liberals' inability to see their world in class terms and to conceive of social remedies that might alter the structures of class power.

Table of Contents:
Contents Preface Introduction: Progressives and the Problem of Class 1. The Labor Problem and the Crisis of the Old Order 2. Constituting Progressivism 3. The Political Universe of Reform 4. Communities of Reformers 5. Class Bridging and the World of Female Reform 6. The Boundaries of Difference: Race and Progress 7. Class Wars and the Crisis of Progressivism Conclusion: War and The Ragged Edge of Reform Notes Index

About the Author :
Shelton Stromquist is a professor emeritus of history at the University of Iowa. He is editor of Labor's Cold War: Local Politics in a Global Context and coeditor of Frontiers of Labor: Comparative Histories of the United States and Australia.

Review :
"Reinventing 'The People' is the clearest, most focused synthesis on Progressivism to appear in recent years. For those coming to the book from a labor history background, it will most likely reinforce conclusions already made. But for those historians with other specialties, the volume should stir a rethinking of the movement. . . . This is a book that should be read by all students of the period."--Labor History "An impressive survey, analysis, and critique of the Progressive movement that will both inform and spark further inquiry. Highly recommended."--Choice "This book will be welcomed by labor, urban, political, and immigration historians, among others, as a solid contribution that sheds light on the Progressives' attitudes on various issues, but particularly on class."--Journal of American History