Authentic Intellectual Work During The Progressive Era

The twentieth century only saw an increase in the industrialization and urbanization that began in the nineteenth century. The new social, political and economic problems that began to emerge due to all of the changes developing in America during these times led to a need for reform. Reform was needed throughout society whether it was in regards to immigrants, civil rights, regulating trusts, or woman’s rights to name a few. These problems extended equally into the problems that educational progressives sought out to reform. John Dewey is commonly used as the embodiment of progressive era reformation ideas but there were others as well, such as Grace C. Strachan, George Counts, and Booker T. Washington.

Gerald Graff is a professor of English and education at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Graff, in his essay, emphasizes the importance for instructors to teach and increase enjoyable courses that students shall truly understand. Graff assures that all kids have hidden intellectualism trying to emerge from within, and as a teacher he feels partly accountable to help those kids develop their competencies in educational work. The essence of Graff’s argument is for students to know that intellectualism lurks within them all, and they need to implement their potential at school. Furthermore, he enriches the essay based totally on his own life experiences, along with his hidden intellectualism, while he attended school during the anti-intellectualism

The progressive movement developed in the early 1900’s in response to the problems caused by the age of industry. Between the 1890 and 1920, the progressive era was an attempt to solve the economic and social problems. These problems lead the nation to a downfall. The main goal of the progressive era was to expand the democracy, change unfair business practices protect consumers and eliminate social ills. Although there were problems many laws and acts were developed the solve them.

“Hidden Intellectualism” an article written by Gerald Graff is a very interesting piece of writing intended for the audience of high school and college educators. Throughout the text Graff argues that high schools and colleges are failing to incorporate topics that interest street smart students into the school system, which is therefore resulting in street smart students failing to do well academically in high school and college. He uses his own personal anecdote to support this. Graff successfully persuades his audience that high school and colleges can develop a student’s intellectualism by using topics that already interests students. He successfully does this through the use of development, conventions, and evidence.

Horace Mann, an American politician and education reformer, helped establish the common school movement. It was this common school movement that revolutionized the teaching and structure of schools across America. After visiting nearly one thousand schools within 6 years, he found that the facilities were in poor condition, lacked many educational tools such as textbooks, and were built on inequality. It was Mann, who established the first normal school back in 1839 with the idea that these schools would provide education and equality to all boys and girls. “Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin is the great equalizer of the conditions of men, the balance-wheel of the social machinery. (p. 183),” said Mann. It was his belief that everyone was entitled to the same content in education. Oftentimes, wealthy children would stay in school longer than the poor children, who couldn’t afford to go at all. The “great equalizer” of education meant that education through common school would be available and equal for all, whether rich or poor. As historian, Kathryn Kish had pointed out, “ The equalizing capacity of the school was something that he very much believed in. The common school became for him the place where we all came together,

The progressive era from the 1890s to 1900s was the time where changes happened in the government in order to eliminate unfair business practices from big businesses corporations, exploitation of labor, and political corruptions. To begin with, many large businesses were corrupt; resulted in the formations of monopolies and trusts taking obscene amount of money. These businesses worked together to take control of the industry and charged unfair prices due to small quantity of competitions. To balance the economic power of these big businesses, the public demanded the government to take actions; the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed in order to “prohibit anti competitive practices and prevent unreasonable concentrations of economic power” (Encyclopedia).

The early to mid 1900s proved to be a whirlwind for politics and society as a whole. While there were a plethora of issues to be dealt with within the Progressive Era, one of the most noteworthy issues to discuss would be that of the working class and the businessmen of the first quarter of the 1900s. The reason why these two portions of society within the Progressive Era are the most relevant to discuss stems from the fact that during the Progressive Era there was a great gap between the upper-class (businessmen) and the lower-class (working class). It was during this time that the country was experiencing great changes to its political platform with several new types of initiatives being taken. The applicability of these reforms and initiatives during this era will be talked about.

From the time of 1890- 1920 was the progressive era. In this time the American people experienced a very rapid industrialization in their major cities, where it grew not only with industrializing but economically as well. In this time we adopted many laws about working conditions that we still have today. For example, the government adopted laws about Jacob Riis and the photos he took, child labor, and women's suffrage movements. In the next few paragraphs I will explain to you why these three subjects are some of the most important things that happened in this time period.

The Progressive movement of the 1900’s was the most important event to occur in the United States during the twentieth century. Progressives at first concentrated on improving the lives of those living in slums and in getting rid of corruption in government. The goal was to make working conditions better for the workers. True reform needed to happen. The workers of America believed this to be the best nation with opportunities for all people. Reform started with industrialization. Workers needed healthy and safe places to work, especially for women and children who were considered vulnerable and weak during that time period. Women and children over 14 worked at meat trimming sausage making and canning. “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair in one

American society began to change in the late 1800s with movements like the Grange and Alliance. These reform movements resulted in a new idea of populism-reformation in the interest of the farmer. The late 1800s in American society gave way to challenges like the farmers role in society, railroad regulation for crop transportation, and economic problems about coinage that created discontent among the American farmers; culminating in the Populist movement were reform efforts like Munn vs. Illinois and the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890.

Throughout America's history, there have been numerous social and political movements that have had a profound and lasting impact on American culture. Movements such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Women's Suffrage Movement have influenced and shaped American ideals and beliefs. These movements were typically driven by a cause. From the 1890s to the 1920s, a period of social and political reform flourished in America. This was driven by the desire to eliminate corruption in the government. People wanted to have a positive impact on society and they wanted to speak up for what they believed in. This era was a pivotal turning point in the history of the United States. This era was known as the Progressive Era.

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, there were many problems in America which needed to be solved. During this time, there were a group of people who worked to solve these problems. These people were called the Progressives. There were many issues and topics the Progressives worked towards fixing. These problems included child labor, political corruption, and industrial abuse. There were also many reforms that were proposed in order to address these problems.

During the time period in between the 1890s to the 1920s, also known as the Progressive Era, was a time period that social activism and political reform within the United States flourished. A main goal throughout this era was eradicate corruption in the government by uncovering and undermining political machines and their bosses. This was meant to form a better and more direct democracy. Also, Progressives sought out to regulate monopolistic trust corporations through various antitrust laws, which aimed to promote fair competition for the benefit of the consumer. Although the Progressive Era brought about many reforms and public figures for the greater good of the American people like muckraking journalism, Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, Susan B. Anthony and Jane Addams and significant policy changes, the era, however, did end when America because our nation entered World War 1 and the Great Depression following several years afterwards.

This method of writing appears logical to readers, leaving little to no room to doubt the legitimacy his beliefs. His support also appears to readers in the form of an academic debate. He interacts with these differing sources, engaging with them in a way that emphasizes their worth. Even though a study may be faulty, Gross finds something within it to propel his theories forward. He challenges his readers to engage in the same kind of critical thinking he uses when evaluating these surveys and their implications, fitting his own thoughts to suit the facts. Numbers are valuable in these circumstances, but the implications of the numbers are far more valuable to the subject. He shows how the original beliefs on politics in education have evolved, and he uses modern political inquiry to highlight this change.

At the beginning of the second semester I didn’t know what exactly to expect from Cited as a class. I had heard that it was a lot of work, that Mr. Cangello could be a hard grader, and to pay attention if you wanted to keep up. As the semester got into full swing and I started to get a better feel for my classes, I realized, not a single part of these warnings had been false.