On the Idea Changes of American Progressive Movement

【Abstract】： During the period of progressive movement， American society had many problems. Based on this， the reformers began to rethink the traditional political ideology of the United States and put forward new political ideas. This paper explores the ideological basis of the American progressive movement and reveals the ideological roots of the movement and the new ideology brought in the movement in order to have a deeper understanding of people’s idea changes in social transitional period.

【Keywords】： Progressive movement； Political crisis； Idea changes

1. The new individualism

The expansion of individualism in that era arouses the contradiction between the individual and the common interests of society. With the rise of large companies， a small number of people possessed huge economic and social powers， which constitute a huge threat to the majority of individual freedom and rights. Thus， the contradiction between traditional individualism and social reality threatens the political order and democratic system of the United States. And it challenges the American political ideology that based on individualism.

During the period of the progressive movement， the new individualism gradually replaced the traditional individualism in governors’ and people’s way of thinking. Representatives are Crowley. Crowley argues that the policy of non-interference and laissez-faire in the era of large industrial society has led to \"the rights of wealth and economic to a small number of people who lack a sense of responsibility\". He believes it is also very detrimental to the country's democracy， which will lead to political malpractice and social inequality. He opposes the unconventional individualism， and thinks that to protect individual rights， cooperation is also needed besides competition.

2. The new concept of separating politics and administration

At the end of the 19th century， American society aroused a series of new problems， At the same time， social and public affairs are increasing， and the functions of government are becoming more and more complicated. Government management urgently needs theoretical guidance to meet the demands of society for improving government efficiency.

Under this condition， Woodrow Wilson published an \"administrative study\" in 1887 to distinguish between politics and administration. Woodrow Wilson believes that politics and administration are both linked and differentiated. Administration should be outside the political sphere because the administrative issue is not a political issue. Thus， the reformers explored the direction of the development of the US government administration， inhaled the view of liberal democracy， and ruled out bureaucratic habits and made it Americanized on the experience of other countries. Wilson's theory of separation of politics and administration and the principle of civil servant neutrality proposed by the US Congress in 1831 became the theoretical and practical basis for the development of American political and administrative systems since the late 19th century.

They have injected new ideas and practical connotations into the traditional principle of separation of powers of the United States. And these ideas promoted the administration reform and power expansion of the American government.

3.The new concept of limited government

As mentioned earlier， with the development of the US industrial economy， there are more and more large-scale enterprises. Such enterprises have great financial resources that can even manipulate public power. People called on the government to intervene in social and economic affairs. So the concept of limited government gradually formed.

During this period， the American political scientist Crowley put forward the \"new nationalism\" thought. The central question of reform is to expand government functions and to strengthen state’s intervention in economic and social life. So he abandoned Jefferson doctrine， and advocated \"new nationalism\". Influenced by Crowley's thought， Theodore Roosevelt used \"new nationalism\" as a campaign slogan. The government must take its role as an effective institution to carry out supervision measures， strengthen the intervention of economic activities and control the over-development of monopoly enterprises so as to alleviate social contradictions. Wilson put forward the \"new freedom\" theory. In his view， the emergence of monopoly trust is the inevitable outcome of industrialization. It is no longer possible for us to return to the personal competition of old world. However， the monopoly is \"illegal competition\"， and small enterprises are difficult to survive and develop under the trust’s influences. Large enterprises become the only wealth and power center and affect a variety of other interests， which will end the traditional American democracy system.

Therefore， the federal government must control the monopoly to protect the people's economic freedom and political power. The fear of excessive government diminished and there is a need for a well-organized government.

4.Conclusion

Some people in this period regarded the new nationalist view as a very dangerous idea in thinking that there was a tendency to trample on civil rights. But on the whole， the traditional liberalism of the United States has changed to a great extent， and the relationship between the government and the freedom is somewhat reconciled. Thus， the state function has been strengthened and the government is increasingly strong， they began to assume the important function of governing economic growth and social development.

Work cited：

[1]Hunter， Robert.“Poverty， Social Conscience in the Progressive Era. ” HarperRow. 1965：237.

[2]Shannon， David A. “20th Century America：The Progressive Era.” Rand McNally. 1974：95.

[3]張小青.論美國進步主義運動的思想背景[J].中國社會科學院研究生院學報，1987（5）.