Includes bibliographical references.

Machine generated contents note: PART ONE Introduction 1 -- Responding to the Challenges of the Progressive Era 3 -- An Overview of the Progressive Era 3 -- Historians Ask, "Who Were the Progressives?" 18 -- PART TWO Some Current Questions 25 -- 1. Do we find the roots of Progressivism in the cities -- or on the farms? 27 -- Richard Hofstadter -- From The Status Revolution and Progressive Leaders 27 -- "The ferment of the Progressive era was urban, middle-class, -- and nationwide." -- Elizabeth Sanders -- Agrarian Politics and Parties after 1896 43 -- "[M] ost of the national legislative fruits of the Progressive Era -- had their unmistakable origins in the agrarian movements of -- the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s." -- 2. How much influence did middle-class businessmen -- have on the Progressive agenda? 77 -- Robert H. Wiebe -- Progressivism Arrives 77 -- "The heart of progressivism was the ambition of the new middle -- class to fulfill its destiny through bureaucratic means." -- Richard L. McCormick -- The Discovery That Business Corrupts Politics: -- A Reappraisal of the Origins of Progressivism 103 -- "Actually, progressive reform was not characterized by -- remarkable rationality or foresight; nor were the -- 'organizers' always at the forefront of the movement." -- 3. How do class and ethnicity complicate our conception -- of the Progressives? 141 -- Shelton Stromquist -- The Crucible of Class: Cleveland Politics and the Origins -- of Municipal Reform in the Progressive Era 141 -- "It is my argument that progressive reform at the municipal -- level congealed in a crucible of class polarization and conflict." -- James J. Connolly -- From The Dimensions of Progressivism 169 -- "[M] any ethnic leaders found in Progressivism and its assault -- on city politics a formula with which to pursue their own ends." -- 4. How did gender affect Progressivism, and which women -- became Progressives? 193 -- Maureen A. Flanagan -- Gender and Urban Political Reform: The City Club -- and the Woman's City Club of Chicago in the -- Progressive Era 193 -- "Most works on Progressive Era politics and reform concentrate -- on men, ignoring women's roles, viewing them only as partners -- with their husbands or assigning them to the periphery of -- charity and church work." -- Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore -- Diplomatic Women 221 -- "Black women fought back after disfranchisement by adapting -- progressive programs to their own purposes, even while they -- chose tactics that left them invisible in the political process.".