724 ★ CHAPTER 18 The Progressive Era
conditions called into question basic assumptions concerning liberty of con-
tract. Although not all reformers were willing to take the step, it was easy to
extend the idea of protecting women and children to demand that govern-
ment better the living and working conditions of men as well, by insuring
them against the impact of unemployment, old age, ill health, and disability.
Brandeis himself insisted that government should concern itself with the
health, income, and future prospects of all its citizens.
The Idea of Economic Citizenship
Brandeis envisioned a different welfare state from that of the maternalist
reformers, one rooted less in the idea of healthy motherhood than in the notion
of universal economic entitlements, including the right to a decent income and
protection against unemployment and work- related accidents. For him, the
right to assistance derived from citizenship itself, not some special service to
the nation (as in the case of mothers) or upstanding character (which had long
differentiated the “deserving” from the “undeserving” poor).
This vision, too, enjoyed considerable support in the Progressive era. By
1913, twenty- two states had enacted workmen’s compensation laws to bene-
fit workers, male or female, injured on the job. This legislation was the first
wedge that opened the way for broader programs of social insurance. To avoid
the stigma of depending on governmental assistance, contributions from work-
ers’ own wages funded these programs in part, thus distinguishing them from
charity dispensed by local authorities to the poor. But state minimum wage
laws and most laws regulating working hours applied only to women. Women
and children may have needed protection, but interference with the freedom
of contract of adult male workers was still widely seen as degrading. The estab-
lishment of a standard of living and working conditions beneath which no
American, male or female, should be allowed to fall would await the coming
of the New Deal.
THE PROGRESSIVE PRESIDENTS
Despite the ferment of Progressivism on the city and state levels, the most
striking political development of the early twentieth century was the rise of
the national state. The process of nationalization was occurring throughout
American life. National corporations dominated the economy; national orga-
nizations like the American Medical Association came into being to raise the
incomes and respect of professions. The process was even reflected in the con-
solidation of local baseball teams into the American and National Leagues and