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A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America, 1870-1920

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 166 ratings

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With America's current and ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor and the constant threat of the disappearance of the middle class, the Progressive Era stands out as a time when the middle class had enough influence on the country to start its own revolution. Before the Progressive Era most Americans lived on farms, working from before sunrise to after sundown every day except Sunday with tools that had changed very little for centuries. Just three decades later, America was utterly transformed into a diverse, urban, affluent, leisure-obsessed, teeming multitude. This explosive change was accompanied by extraordinary public-spiritedness as reformers--frightened by class conflict and the breakdown of gender relations--abandoned their traditional faith in individualism and embarked on a crusade to remake other Americans in their own image.

The progressives redefined the role of women, rewrote the rules of politics, banned the sale of alcohol, revolutionized marriage, and eventually whipped the nation into a frenzy for joining World War I. These colorful, ambitious battles changed the face of American culture and politics and established the modern liberal pledge to use government power in the name of broad social good. But the progressives, unable to deliver on all of their promises, soon discovered that Americans retained a powerful commitment to individual freedom. Ironically, the progressive movement helped reestablish the power of conservatism and ensured that America would never be wholly liberal or conservative for generations to come.

Michael McGerr's
A Fierce Discontent recreates a time of unprecedented turbulence and unending fascination, showing the first American middle-class revolution. Far bolder than the New Deal of FDR or the New Frontier of JFK, the Progressive Era was a time when everything was up for grabs and perfection beckoned.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Simply put, this is history at its best.... A truly remarkable effort from one of our nation's finest historians."--Publishers Weekly "McGerr...captures the defining ethos of the progressive movement."--New York Times "[McGerr's] ambitious meld of character, policy, and context should make his book a landmark in the field."--The Nation "The author is a master of his subject, and his book may prove to be the definitive text on the triumphs and inevitable downfall of the progressive movement."--Christian Science Monitor

Book Description

A lively and detailed account of the effects of the Progressive Era on American culture and politics.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press (July 7, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 395 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0195183657
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195183658
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.35 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 1.06 x 9.22 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 166 ratings

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Customers find the book readable and well-written. They describe it as a valuable study with relevant information about a significant period in American history. The book provides an insightful perspective and is considered a great resource.

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Customers find the book readable and well-written. They say it's thorough and exciting.

"Very thorough and readable, exciting book. It certainly covers the subject well." Read more

"Well written, tons of info relevant to how, politically, we got where we are today." Read more

"...A must read! Very useful for teachers in search of anecdotes to spice lectures and discussions" Read more

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Customers find the book an insightful and valuable study of one of the most consequential periods in American history. They find it well-written and informative, providing a clear perspective on how we got where we are today. The book covers the subject thoroughly, focusing not just on facts but also on the intricate stories of different people's experiences.

"Very thorough and readable, exciting book. It certainly covers the subject well." Read more

"Well written, tons of info relevant to how, politically, we got where we are today." Read more

"...A must read! Very useful for teachers in search of anecdotes to spice lectures and discussions" Read more

"...Reading this book really extended my appreciation for the issues and struggles that have been part of our country for so long...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2017
    Very thorough and readable, exciting book. It certainly covers the subject well.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2017
    In "A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America", Michael McGerr argues “that progressivism created much of our contemporary political predicament. The epic of reform at the dawn of the twentieth century helps explain the less-than-epic politics at the dawn of the twenty-first. Progressivism, the creed of a crusading middle class, offered the promise of utopianism – and generated the inevitable letdown of unrealistic expectations” (pg. xiv). He shifts the historiography to look “at four quintessential progressive battles: to change other people; to end class conflict; to control big business; and to segregate society” (pg. xv). While McGerr focuses on the usual historical actors, he also draws upon the experiences of Jane Addams and her parents, Russian immigrants Golub and Rahel, and the Garland family.
    McGerr ties the beginning of the Progressive Era to the Victorian middle class’ discontent with the upper class’ lavish lifestyle. He writes, “By the turn of the century, middle-class men and women, radicalized and resolute, were ready to sweep aside the upper ten and build a new, progressive America” (pg. 39). Alongside this conflict, “across Victorian America, women demanded new opportunities outside the home” (pg. 51). While the era witnessed many disparate conflicts, “the progressives, driven by their project to transform relations between men and women, end class conflict, and make the nation more middle-class, were almost always in the thick of the fighting” (pg. 79). McGerr demonstrates that progressives’ utopian idealism did not extend to race relations. He writes, “There were limits to the progressives’ optimistic faith in transforming other people. Segregation revealed both a sense of realism and an underlying pessimism in the middle class. Even as they labored urgently to end the differences between classes, the progressives felt some social differences would not be erased for many years. And some differences, they believed, could not be erased at all” (pg. 183). This led to an acceptance of Southern Jim Crow segregation and Northern segregation. McGerr traces the decline of progressivism to new entertainments and pleasure-seeking activities in the early 1900s (pg. 260) coupled with the Red Scare (pg. 306) and the “reemergence of political conservatism after years of defeat and demoralization” in the 1920 election (pg. 310). In his conclusion, McGerr argues that the failure of progressivism limited policies that appeared to take similar approaches, such as the New Deal or the Great Society.
    "A Fierce Discontent" draws upon social, political, and economic history and resembles Eric Foner’s Recontruction in that it primarily synthesizes much of the previous research on the subject while offering a new perspective through his use of vignettes, like that of Rahel Golub, that differ from the usual top-down approach to the Progressive Era.
    17 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2016
    Well written, tons of info relevant to how, politically, we got where we are today.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2015
    In graduate school in the early 1970s I read several articles skeptical of progressivism as a valid description on the early 20th century. Wish I had this book then! The first chapter alone--on the extremes of wealth and poverty--is worth the price of the entire book. A must read! Very useful for teachers in search of anecdotes to spice lectures and discussions
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2016
    This is a fascinating book, a great perspective on a period of American history about which I knew little. Reading this book really extended my appreciation for the issues and struggles that have been part of our country for so long. My only critique of the book is that it could benefit from some editing and reorganization that would result in a more streamlined presentation and compelling storyline. However, having said this, I still highly recommend the book. It is most definitely worth reading.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2013
    Hard to read. long and drawn out much like the history it tells of. Served its purpose now on to the next student
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2022
    Although this is congenialy written in a no nonsense yet intellectually stimulating fashion, it is so wide-ranging as to belie the supposed focus of the book. Each large chapter usually introduces a theme, but as with the overarching theme of the tension between individualism and collectivism, it embraces such a host of developments that what exactly constitutes Progressivism becomes rather hazy. Perhaps it could be said that this is because Progressivism itself embodied a large swathe of individuals, movements, and goals, as it obviously did. But at the end of the day, A Fierce Discontent serves more as a survey of this period in American history than it does as an analysis of the movement.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2017
    Great book for anyone wants to learn more about the Progressive Era.
    One person found this helpful
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