FIVE
Progressivism
The Genesisof Eugenics
EugenicismamongSo-CalledProgressives
Some left-winghistoriansevidentlyenjoyexpoundingupon the ProgressiveEra.
Thinkingbackto BookOne,thiswasthe periodin the early1900sAmericawhenthe
politicalphilosophyof Progressivism,alsoknownas reformism,grewin prominence.
Thistrendarrivedat the tail endof the GildedAge—which,as we mentionedin Book
Two,NewYork-basedphilosopherAndrewBernsteinmoreaccuratelycallstheInventive
Period. We additionallyrecollectthatthe ProgressiveEra is toutedas a much-needed
rebellionand correctiveagainstthe relativelaissezfaireof the InventivePeriod.Remem-
ber,also,fromBookOnewhatBostonCollegehistorianCharlesDerberproclaims.He
opinesthatthe ProgressiveEra—and,moresignificantly,the NewDealthatarosefrom
it—shouldbe praised.Thisgovernisttrend“createda newAmericansocialcontract.”
Progressivism“was a genuinealternativeto GildedAgecapitalism,and the nation’s most
decisiverepudiationof social Darwinism.”^1 DePauwUniversityhistorian StanleyP.
Cainelikewisecheers,“Progressivismbeganwiththe breakingof chainsof...thoughtthat
boundAmericansin the late nineteenthcenturyto preceptsand assumptionsthat militat-
ed againstreform,” suchas classicallaissez-faireliberalism.“So longas manbelievedthat
the enormousgap betweenrichand poorwasthe naturalresultof an inexorableprocess
of selectionordainingthatsomewouldsucceedbut othersmustfail, dogmahemmedin
thosewhosoughtchange.” To translate,CainehailsProgressivismas a foil to his social
Darwinismstrawman.“Untilmenreexaminedtheirbelief” thatthe free reignof “corpo-
rationswasgoodfor the country,... reformershadfewtoolsto use in forginga new
society.” Ah, but, thankfully,“when,at last,the rigidbondsof traditionand dogmawere
broken,” the progressive“advocatesof constructivechangecouldact effectively.”^2 Thom-
as K. McCrawproclaims,“In securingtheirlimitedlist of reforms,the progressives
workedveryhard... Thatso manyof themsucceededwasprogressivism’s chieflegacy
for them,andone of its manymeaningsfor the future.”^3 R. LaurenceMoore,whode-
nouncedWilliamGrahamSumner,additionallyrhapsodizesabouthow“WoodrowWil-
son,CharlesBeard,... CharlesHortonCooley,E. A. Ross,... andJohnR. Commonstried
in theirrespectivefieldsto bringAmericanscholarshipof age.”^4 Thereis a tremendous
ironyin this.TheProgressivemovement,morethananyotherturn-of-the-twentieth-
centurysocialandpoliticalmovement,spawnedthe prestigeof government-imposed
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