ASSIGNMENT

• Write an essay in which you explain the process by which government, at all levels of American society, came to carry out new functions during the Progressive Era (ca. 1895-1916). What caused Americans, and in particular, the middle-class leaders of the Progressive movement, to turn decisively away from the tradition of laissez-faire and embark on a spate of unprecedented reform? (In answering this question, you should explain who the Progressives were, what the problems were that they were confronting, and what their goals and prescribed remedies consisted of.) In what ways did Progressive goals sometimes conflict with one another? In what ways might the Progressives not seem so “progressive” to us today? Finally, how did Progressives attempt to reconcile the traditional American value of freedom with greater government regulation? Were they successful in this endeavor? For this last question, you need to explain why or why not.
• Describe the transformation that American culture underwent during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and then go on to account for this transformation. You should especially focus on how scientific and economic development undermined traditional Protestantism and the work ethic. Make sure you explain how capitalists’ attempts to find new markets among consumers at home intersected with this decline. And you should also explain how Americans came to view leisure and pleasure more positively. Finally, you should discuss Americans’ changing attitudes toward sex and their greater willingness to spend money.