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The Progressive Era

How did the Progressive movement start? It was the result of the enormous trusts that controlled industry. Government grew to control these trusts.

The industrial revolution began in the 1770s with improvement of the steam engine. This invention allowed more work to be done per person than ever before. The steam engine drove a shaft in which belts would transfer the energy to the production line. As industrialists harnessed their new form of energy, output rose. Wages also rose, but not commensurate with production. More production meant lower prices for the goods produced. For the first time people could afford the “necessities” of life. Life became easier, with greater affordability. The industrial barons became wealthy. Steam power also meant railroads to ship goods, lowering costs. Railroads meant steel rails and a huge steel industry arose to supply those rails. Child labor still occupied a significant amount of the work force. Textile industries used significant amounts of child and women laborers.

Throughout the 18th century, industrialists sought to lower costs, decrease competition, consolidate supply chains, and enter into agreements that lowered transportation costs. Vertical integration meant that owners of industry could regulate costs from raw material to finished product. Decreasing competition meant owners could set prices higher. Lower transportation costs by big manufacturers meant they could undersell smaller competitors. The impact of all this activity meant more profits, higher working wages, and more control by industry. Families such as the Rockefellers, Morgans, and Carnegies, to name a few, amassed huge fortunes. The government grew considerably. In the quest for less competition and more control, it is almost axiomatic that corruption should also exist. Trusts were created whereby stock holders traded in their company shares to a trust in return for certificates against dividends. This gave total control of an industry to a trust management company, much like the investment companies of today, like Black Rock and Vanguard.

Busting Trusts

The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was the first attempt to break up these huge trust conglomerates. The Sherman Antitrust Act was followed by the Clayton Antitrust Act (1914) to further restrain trust activities. The acts were meant to foster more competition in industry. Although the Sherman Antitrust Act was declared void five years later by the Supreme Court, the act began the Progressive Era in which efforts were made to right the wrongs introduced by the trusts. The Progressive Era lasted until the late 1920s. Enter Teddy Roosevelt, who used the Sherman Antitrust Act to break up these large trust monopolies. His actions were aimed at promoting fair competition and preventing monopolies from stifling economic growth and harming consumers. Roosevelt’s presidency marked a beginning of progressive reform in the United States. He advocated for a “Square Deal,” which aimed to balance the interests of labor, business, and consumers. Some key progressive reforms under his leadership included:
• Regulation of the food and drug industries: Roosevelt signed the Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) into law - this law aimed to ensure the safety and purity of food and drugs by requiring accurate labeling and regulating the sale of adulterated products.
• The Meat Inspection Act (1906): This act mandated federal inspection of meat processing plants and established sanitary standards to ensure the safety of meat products.
• Labor reforms: He worked to mediate labor disputes and advocated for workers’ rights, resulting in better working conditions and fair labor practices.
• Business regulation: Roosevelt promoted regulations to curb corporate abuses and protect consumers. His administration pursued antitrust cases to break up monopolies and promote fair competition.

The Progressive Era corrected the abuses of the huge trusts fostering more competition, fairer trade, better working conditions, and higher worker’s pay. All this was good, but it came with a price. That price was more government control and more government regulation. Woodrow Wilson, by contrast, expanded government far more than Roosevelt. The progressive movement at that time believed in fairness, the perfection of citizens, and the belief that a professional government staff could better achieve a new enlightened world. The assumption, however, was that government regulators would be unbiased and strive for the country’s greater good to which Roosevelt and Wilson aspired. To a large degree Roosevelt and Wilson improved the competition of big business and the lot of citizens. Things would be far different in the future.

The 16th Amendment Is Passed

To fund all of these government activities, the income tax, made possible by the 16th Amendment, was instituted in 1913. Prior to 1913 the government was primarily funded by tariffs, licensing fees, and other sources of income. World War I created our first deficit of $25 billion, later reduced in the 1920’s to $17 billion. WW II raised the national debt to $242 billion ($2.87 trillion in today’s dollars). The debt was finally paid off during the Clinton years by a combination of a great economy and reduced government spending. The national debt rose after the Clinton years and now stands at some $40 trillion. Some economists do not believe this deficit is significant, but considering every person in the United States has debt of about $100,000, the national debt is definitely significant. Printing money to pay the debt would only exacerbate inflation. Government got us into this mess and they seem loath to get us out. That means it is up to us to show government the way back to fiscal responsibility. Fiscal Responsibility is one of the drivers behind a Convention of States.

The late 1800s saw immense technological improvement. New ways of doing things made life easier. New ways of doing things also meant new challenges to protect consumers. It sounds as if the same situation is transplanted into today’s time with different challenges. To protect consumers a new government bureaucracy was created to control industry excesses. Unfortunately, someone forgot to control the government. Progressives (not the Leftists) assume that people have a high desire to do good things. This desire was not communicated to the government bureaucrats, who seek to control everything. We will see that during Franklin Roosevelt’s terms in office the bureaucracy grew beyond anything imaginable and paved the way for, what is now called, the Deep State.

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Created:	2025-06-20 20:18 GMT
Updated:	2025-06-30 07:00 GMT
Published:	2025-06-24 01:20 GMT
Converted:	2025-11-11 12:05 GMT
Change Author:	Jeffrey Brown
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