Analytical Paper

The Progressive Movement of the Turn of the Century epitomized
the high minded ideals of the era for a class’s society based on moral
values and economic equality. However, they also held positions on race
and ethnicity steeped in the Darwinian philosophy of social development
that dominated the period.

Using the readings from Michael McGerr’s A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in American 1870-1920 and Shelton Stromquist’s Re-Inventing “The People”: The Progressive Movement , the Class Problem, and the Origins of Modern Liberalism,
analyze the Progressive’s positions on race and society? How did they
view African Americans and the measures of Jim Crow against them? Did
these views differ from those regarding the “new immigrants” coming into
America? Did they think these groups could be assimilated into
American society? Do you think their views of race were harmful or
helpful for fostering the promotion of equality in the long run or were
it a hindrance?

You will craft an essay to answer these questions. Essays should be
no shorter than 500 words and preferably no longer than 750. You may use
class readings as well in your essays for further evidence. Your papers
will be in MLA format and include citations. Please refer to the
syllabus’s definition of plagiarism and the punishment for plagiarism
before writing your papers.