Liberalism In The Progressive Era

As teens rebel against their mothers, so to did America rebel against the British during the 18th Century. However, also like children they followed their mother’s footsteps. Oliver Cromwell led a revolt against the Staurt monarchy and similarly colonists revolted against the British. During this time, an English philosopher named John Locke wrote works on political philosophies, mainly against the Stuarts. John Locke would have believed that the American colonists justified their resentments against the British especially, since the British stole their fundamental rights of liberty, property, and life.

One of the biggest influences that John Locke had on President Jefferson was, what John Locke dubbed, “Natural Rights,” and what Jefferson called, “Unalienable Rights.” Meaning practically the same thing, these rights were very similar, and it is obvious that Jefferson’s version derives from Locke’s ‘Natural Rights.’ John Locke’s version stated that all peoples shall possess the following rights: Life, Liberty, and Property. In this case, life means, that people people will fight to live and want to survive. Liberty refers to being free, and being able to make one’s own decision.

1), unsuccessful programs (Docs. 2, 3, and 5), and skewed morals (Docs. 4 and 6). They believed that the era’s liberalism was hindering American society, and this belief only grew as time passed; Richard Nixon, for example, was elected in the 1970s off of a catering to a so called conservative ‘silent majority’. Past Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, liberalism in America up to 1989 could be found in welfare programs (Docs. 2 and 3), changing views towards society as a whole (Docs. 4 and 6), ‘hippie’ culture, and more. Threats to ‘traditional values’ could be found in all of these

World War I was a war that Americans entered reluctantly, and a war which led to the replacement of progressivism by liberalism. Liberalism arose from a feeling of entrapment brought by the various regulations on industry and society, and embraced individualism to create a sense of liberation. Cars, especially the Model T, played a massive role in this by giving mobility to men and women, and creating a sense of freedom and independence (McGerr 228). The phonograph, psychotherapy, sports, amusement parks, dance, and music were other individualistic concepts, which provided pleasure. African Americans of the period began migrating to cities like Chicago, and enjoyed certain individualistic freedoms like music and boxing (McGerr 257), but were also banned from many theaters and places of leisure, and often created their own theaters.

The most significant personality between the liberal people was Thomas Jefferson, who proclaimed that

John Locke was an English philosopher who developed the idea of republicanism. He believed all people were born with the natural rights of life, liberty, and property. If theses rights were taken away by a government, then people had the right to rebel. He also believed that people should elect officials to represent them and make decisions on their behalf. These officials would be educated and would represent ideas parallel to those best for the public.

The progressive era is a critical period in the history of the national construction of the United States and a critical period of national governance. Since the middle of the nineteenth Century, the United States has experienced great and rapid economic and social changes. In the promotion of liberal capitalism, in the past few decades, the U.S. economy rapid industrialization, the United States showed a rapid economic growth, creating a hitherto unknown economic prosperity, the United States also from an agricultural society rapid transformation into an industrial society, to the agricultural industry and handicraft industry dominated capitalist economy quickly turns to large companies as the core of corporate capitalism. Industrialization

liberalism is the pursuit of change and progress for the better good, socially and politically. Liberals of the late nineteenth century, often believed in “new” ideals like liberty and equality, as well as the overthrow of the monarchy in place of a more equal government that gave more power to the people. One key principle of liberalism that evolved from the French revolution is the idea that the will of the people should be represented in the government’s actions. Toussaint talks about this general will in the Haitian constitution, “the terms of this constitution are the free, voluntary, and unchanging expression of our hearts and of our constituents’ general will” (The Haitian Constitution) He believed that his people should have a say in what the government did.

As the author of The Great Awakening And Enlightenment In Colonial America stated, “Another idea central to American Enlightenment thinking is liberalism, that is, the notion that humans have natural rights and that government authority is not absolute, but based on the will and consent of the governed” (The Great Awakening And Enlightenment In Colonial

• Thomas used Aristotle’s view of natural law to justify the authority of the Roman Catholic Church in political as well as religious matters. For the purpose of explaining the fundamental reasons of law he used Aristotle’s philosophy and added the use of an eternal ruler. John Locke • John Locke had a distinct influence on the writers of the American Constitution by advocating for human rights and liberty through democracy. In saying so, he believed that the mass majority of ordinary people can be capable of giving consent to their governor/ruler as opposed to the Monarch government. However if the ruler did not comply with the needs of the people, Locke believed that the public had the justified right to rebel.

The main idea is that the civil society should be governing itself. In other words, there is a fundamental belief in individual freedom. Classical liberalism holds the view that the people have natural rights and these rights are separate from government. This view is opposite towards the general opinion where the government grants rights. It is a time of scientific revolutions and the time when the power of Catholic Church had no longer the same type of power as before.

John Locke was coined as the father of liberalism. He was one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers and proved to be a great English philosopher and physician. What is more is that he is one of the first empiricists in Britain. He even greatly contributed in the American Declaration of Independence focusing on the classical republicanism and liberal theory. John Locke was able to study in prestigious institution in London named Westminster School.

The National Assembly then wrote the Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Commoners were now considered equal to the nobles and clergy and ending the old regime. They believed all men were born free and equal similar to what Locke believed in. The Enlightenment ideas influenced the American Revolution and the American Revolution influenced the French

Liberalism affected much of Europe during the Eighteenth Century. It started with the French wanting to get property rights and the lower class people wanting the right to vote, and it eventually conformed with nationalism and wanting to combine countries based on the language people spoke. Britain even had their share of Liberalism, and it especially heated up during the time of Gladstone and Disraeli. Liberalism did not always win, but it changed the political and economic atmosphere all throughout Europe.

Liberal Democracy is a democratic system of government in which individual rights and freedoms are officially recognized and protected, and the exercise of political power is limited by the rule of law. The word democracy is greek, the word “demos” means people and “kratos” means power. The idea of liberalism first began in the 1600’s with John Locke as he believed that the people should be allowed to remove the government currently ruling when they have misused their power for ulterior motives. Although the seed was planted in the 1600’s, liberal democracy only properly took form in the 1840’s in Canada. Australia and New Zealand followed not long after as they began to use the secret ballot system to elect political leaders.