Progressivism Today vs. in the 19th Century. How does it Compare?

The podcast episode discusses the activism of the 19th and 20th centuries and compares it to activism today. During the industrial revolution, there were many hardships for workers, such as long shifts, poor living conditions, and lack of sanitation. Activists fought for better rights and progressivism, aiming for cleaner cities, better housing, and fair competition in the market. The government intervened and passed the Sherman Antitrust Act. Immigration was also a prominent issue, with activists today supporting pro-immigration policies. Progressive leaders from the past, like Teddy Roosevelt, are compared to present-day activists such as Bernie Sanders. The methods of spreading ideas have changed, with the internet, national TV, and podcasts playing important roles. Activists in the past relied on newspapers, executive orders, books, and peaceful protests to bring attention to social issues. Many of their movements resulted in significant legislative changes. 🎵 And welcome to the podcast, thank you for tuning in. Once again, we're learning about history and the Americans. This is episode 39 of 246, and I am your host, Holden Lamberts. I appreciate you for coming. So, today on the Docket, we are learning about the 19th and 20th centuries, and how activism today compares to it back then. As you know, during the 18th and 19th century, we went through the Industrial Revolution, had many great changes, but alongside it brought much catastrophe, and many hard times for those not as fortunate. All right, let's get into our first topic today. So right now, we're going to talk about what these movements seem, but what did they want to provide to the people in terms of rights and progressivism. Back in the day, as factories began to sprout up, child labor began. We had families working night to day, living in multifamily homes, in cities where there was packed trash everywhere, and people were dirty. A lot of people were pretty dirty. They couldn't get no baths, nothing. Sewage wasn't a big thing. Sanitation was not big. Diseases ran through populations, all while working multi-multi-day shifts during a week at factories, where they get paid very little, and often worked in dangerous situations. So when activists began to notice this, and see the absolute destruction and the pain that these business practices brought, and how, honestly, all of America was kind of sliding into this ditch. It began to look like a third world country. And so what they began to fight for, honestly, was, how can we fight against the rapid consequences of industrialization? We've gone from living on farms, and everyone being spread out, to being packed in so tight, and you can't compare it to anything before. Now we have these massive businesses that surround us, who we all work for. And they're at the level where they have complete control of the entire market. They're monopolies at this point, right? And you see that. You see the corruption in the cities. You see these political machines who control your votes. You see a working man with a 12-hour shift in the factory, for his boss, who does not care about his safety. And he goes home to his family, in a dingy apartment, where he might be living with another family, just to meet and meet. There, afterwards, in a while, he can vote for his new town mayor. Wow, someone who can bring change. Who do you think that could be? I don't know. The citizens will vote. And a man says, I don't have much in this world, but I do have a say in who our representatives are. And I believe that's the American way. But with these political machines, and the amount of corruption in cities, there becomes no such thing as a fair vote anymore. No such thing. And so, as this becomes pointed out in various political cartoons, as people like Boss Tweed, and this political machine, and all the tampering they did, as that becomes brought into the light, people begin to see the world around them for what it is. A hellscape. And they want change. This is supposed to be the great America. We want better. So, they begin fighting against those things. No more dirty cities. We want sanitation, we want plumbing, and we want decent housing that is safe and won't collapse in the night. We want to make sure companies are held accountable, so they can't just bully any new market. Have to compete with other businesses, constantly improving, constantly having better prices. This becomes the backbone of 20th century activism, progressivism at the time. And comparing that to today, it's honestly not too much different. Of course, we have much better sanitation, plumbing, housing, we have codes. No longer do we have these massive corporations, though, that loom over us. The government got involved after activism in the 20th century, and they said, wow, this is an anti-competitive market. What should we do about that? And they created the Anti-Sherman, the Anti-Sherman, Antitrust... Pardon my word. The Sherman Antitrust Act. That's what I was looking for. Group organizations such as women's suffrages, rights for prisoners, all those things were spreading up at the time, and people were calling for better. Nowadays, people call for civil rights, racial justice, and free speech. That's a big thing. But one thing that definitely connects the past to present today is immigration. During this industrial revolution and all the activism that was going on, immigration was at its peak. We had places like Ellis Island, which were registering thousands of immigrants every year. Thousands upon thousands. Everywhere from Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Norway, Russia, China, until the China Exclusion Act. China, Japan, all across the world, and we were getting thousands of immigrants into the U.S. So, of course, being the racist people that they were back then, it caused many issues. They saw immigrants as lesser. They saw them as stupid, ignorant to the American way, and how Americans lived their lives and went upon their ways and voted. And they saw them, of course, as foreigners. Nowadays, activism is pro-immigration. Progressives want immigrants. They believe the country was founded on immigrants and that they are welcome here as we were once welcomed. And it's a big topic today. Further things were some of the people and the major leaders of these progressive ideals in the 1900s. Often you'll hear about the leaders such as Teddy Roosevelt, a major progressive at the time, created the Sherman Antitrust Act, broke up the monopolies, created executive orders, well, utilized them much more, and he conserved a lot of nature. Other people like William Jennings Bryan, who wanted to free American people. And then there's people like Charles Evan Hughes. These men were the progressive leaders at the time. Nowadays, we have people like Bernie Sanders. We have immigration activists such as Erica Indola. We have like Kimberly Crenshaw, who advocate for a woman's constitutional rights. Just as they were arguing for women's voting and women's suffrages in the 1900s, Kimberly Crenshaw is still advocating for women's constitutional rights today. Other movements have to do with how people express themselves nowadays. Free speech is a big issue. How do these people get their word out and how do these people spread their progressivism today? Of course, through the Internet, that's a big thing. People gather in the eve of protests, sometimes it leads to riots, and even sometimes leads to people gluing themselves to floors or streets, or if you're special, to a Porsche museum. Then nobody leaves anywhere. But a big thing is on the Internet. You can get your ideas out very quickly. Your agenda, what you believe in. Also, a big thing is national TV. The media is as strong as ever. Also, a large defining force. Things like podcasts as well. We have the luxury of the Internet, of course, today. Back in the day, many people just read newspapers. Newspapers were the way to spread political ideas. You could occasionally have a chat in a bar, possibly, but people didn't want to come back home after a 12-hour shift at the factory and talk about politics. So back in the day, executive orders were a big thing. When Roosevelt stepped in, he created, he signed over 1,000 executive orders. Books were also a large thing. Things like books like How the Other Half Lives and The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, major influencers in the political sphere of that day, often called muckrakers. And other things like group organizations of women's suffrage activists. Protests, similar to today, but often more peaceful. And honestly, in the past, it was bringing the truth to the public's eye. Things of muckrakers would show the cruelties of child labor, the inhumane working conditions these people would work with, and women's suffrage and the fights that they went through to earn the right to vote. Many of these movements led to great legislative pieces. Executive orders were a big part of enforcing these progressive ideals at the time. Of course, Teddy Roosevelt, a major player and a champion of the people, of the progressive people. All right, thank you for tuning in, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you have a sizzling Sunday. Enjoy the evening, folks. Have a good one.