This list of progressive accomplishments in the 20th Century accompanies my article, “Defining 21st Century Progressivism.”
Nearly of the major national government programs serving much of the population were enacted during three brief periods of American history when progressives controlled the Presidency and, much of the time, the Congress.
This is a list of accomplishments in the first progressive period, 1901-1917. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Republican, 1901-1909; William Howard Taft, Republican,1909-1913; Woodrow Wilson, Democrat: 1913-1921 (progressive period ends with U.S. entry into World War I in 1917)
Significant expansion of the role and powers of the President, the federal government and the civil service;
The commission system of local government;
Women gained the right to vote;
The Referendum;
Recall;
Direct election of U.S. Senators;
Public ownership and operation of urban transit systems;
Clayton Anti-Trust Act which provided the first legal rights to unions, forbidding the use of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act against them.
The first antitrust suit by the federal government;
The breakup of the Standard Oil monopoly;
The graduated income tax;
The inheritance tax;
Major reductions in tariffs;
Prohibitions against child labor and workplace exploitations;
Protections against contaminated food and medicines;
Hundreds of millions of acres of protected wilderness areas, waterways and national parks;
The Federal Reserve System.
Here is a list of the major accomplishments of the 2nd progressive period: 1933-1941 (ends with entry into World War II). President: Franklin Roosevelt (cousin of Theodore), Democrat, 1933-1945.
Great expansion of the role and powers of the Presidency and the federal government, particularly in the national economy;
Bank and Wall Street regulation, including the Glass-Steagall Act, which created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Securities and Exchange Commission;
Huge investments in infrastructure through the Civil Works Administration, the Public Works Administration, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Works Progress Administration, and the Civilian Conservation Corps;
Social Security;
The Federal Housing Administration, providing financing for home purchases
The eight-hour workday and 40-hour work week;
The minimum wage;
The right to organize unions and engage in collective bargaining;
Worker’s compensation and unemployment insurance.
Here is a list of many of the accomplishments of the 3rd progressive period: 1961-1969. Presidents John Kennedy, Democrat, 1961-1963; Lyndon Johnson, Democrat, 1963-1969
In 1965, greatest number of bills passed by Congress in one session in history
The Peace Corps;
VISTA;
Medicare;
Medicaid;
Head Start;
The Childrens Health Insurance Program;
Income support for below-poverty level working people;
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting;
National Public Radio (NPR)
Public Broadcasting System (PBS)
Fair Housing and Public Accommodations laws providing freedom for anyone to buy a home anywhere, and to be served in any business establishment open to the public;
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 also forbade job discrimination;
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 assured minority registration and voting;
Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965 abolished the national-origin quotas in immigration law;
Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, which created an Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to oversee a variety of community-based antipoverty programs overall called the “War on Poverty,” which reduced the percentage of people living below the poverty line from 22.2 percent in 1963 to 12.6 percent in 1970. It is about 14.5 percent today.
Food Stamp Act of 1964;
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965;
Higher Education Act of 1965, which increased federal money given to universities, created scholarships and low-interest loans for students, and established a national Teacher Corps to provide teachers to poverty-stricken areas of the United States;
The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden;
National Endowment for the Arts;
National Endowment for the Humanities;
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts;
The Department of Transportation;
The Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964;
Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965;
The Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 set standards through creation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration;
The Child Safety Act of 1966;
The Flammable Fabrics Act of 1967;
Wholesome Meat Act of 1967;
The Truth-in-Lending Act of 1968 required lenders and credit providers to disclose the full cost of finance charges in both dollars and annual percentage rates, on installment loan and sales;
Water Quality Act of 1965;
Clean Air Act of 1963;
Wilderness Act of 1964;
Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966;
National Trails System Act of 1968;
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968;
Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965;
Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965;
Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act of 1965;
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966;
Aircraft Noise Abatement Act of 1968;
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969;