Chapter 70 - The Progressive Era

Dave Broker (0:06)

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth Brookings.

On May Day, 1894, an estimated 10,000 protesters marched into Washington, DC. They were led by an eccentric businessman named Jacob Coxie, and an even more eccentric labor leader named Carl Brown. They came to deliver their proposed legislation to Congress, a Good Roads Bill, that would invest $500 million in infrastructure projects and create much-needed jobs in the process. The equivalent today would be about $18 billion. The United States was in the midst of a severe economic downturn. During the previous year, a number of developments converged to create a meltdown, including the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, the collapse of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, and a number of economic problems coming out of Argentina. In April 1893, the US. Treasury announced the value of its gold had fallen below its mandated holding requirements. Loans across the country began to default, and soon enough, depositors began withdrawing their savings in a national run on the banks.

The panic of 1893 lasted about three months, as the stock market plummeted and over 300 banks collapsed. But the economic depression caused by the liquidity crisis would last years. It was the worst downturn in the history of the country up to that point. Economic output fell 6.5 percent. Millions of Americans lost their jobs, farmers faced foreclosures, and bloody strikes ensued, including the infamous Pullman strike. Shout out, Chapter 66

So, when Coxie and Brown set out on their march, they attracted a good deal of support. As John Grinspan of the National Museum of American History put it, quote, Coxie and Brown were leading a ragamuffin pageant of unemployed workers, spiritualists, women dressed as goddesses, thoroughbred horses, collies and bulldogs from Missilian, Ohio to Washington, DC., waving peace flags and Brown's confusing religious banners. The marchers camped outside of small towns along the way, surviving on donations of bologna and coffee, and playing baseball with local supporters, end quote. As they made their way to the nation's capital, journalists began following Cox's army, writing up reports that captivated readers across the country. Soon, several other armies formed to make the trek as well, though none made it as far as Cox and Brown. Upon arriving, they went up to Capitol Hill. Brown, wearing a buckskin cowboy outfit, antagonized the police until they chased him through the crowd. He was eventually thrown to the ground and beaten. While that was happening, Coxy climbed the steps of the Capitol building to read his bill to the crowd. But he too was stopped and arrested. The police then started clubbing the crowd until they dispersed. In all, the confrontation lasted about 15 minutes. The two leaders each received a 20-day sentence to a local workhouse for the crime of trampling congressional shrubbery.

But the episode reflected a broader shift in American politics. Voters were fed up with the status quo of the Gilded Age. That November, more than 11% of the electorate chose a candidate from the People's Party, an economic populist party, for Congress. A populist and bimetalist named William Jennings Bryan won the Democratic nomination for president two years later after telling his party's convention delegates, quote, Having behind us the producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the commercial interests, the laboring interests, and the toilers everywhere, we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them, You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold. End quote.

Indeed, across the industrializing world, the masses were crying for reform. They had gone from the panic of 1873, to the long depression, to the panic of 1893, and now they had had enough. At the close of the 19th century, the public demanded a greater say in the workings of government, a curb on the power of corporations, more economic stability, and more opportunities for upward mobility. But they weren't Luddites. They liked the scientific, technological, and economic progress that the Industrial Revolutions had made possible. Now, with the 20th century upon them, they sought social and political progress to match it.

This is The Industrial Revolutions, Chapter 70, The Progressive Era.

That's right, listeners, I'm back! As I'm sure you've noticed, it's been a while since I last released an episode. Nearly two years, in fact. And yes, much of it was because we had a little one back in 2024, and I was in full-time dad mode. But just as I was getting ready to get back to podcasting, I got some big news. My wife's company went through a bit of a reorganization, and long story short, they ended up moving us across the country again, this time to Los Angeles. Now I love LA, so I was definitely excited to return, but it also meant I needed to extend the hiatus to focus on house hunting, moving, and settling in here. And between the work the new house needed, and finding new doctors and such, and continuing to raise now toddler, the podcast return just kept getting pushed back. But now most of that stuff's all done, and the kiddo is entering preschool, so here we are starting the second half of The Second Industrial Revolution. And that's kind of a nice halfway point in the podcast, isn't it? Moving forward, I'm hoping to go back to releasing one episode per month, though I can't guarantee that. But I'd say over the next year or so, I'll probably be able to knock out five or six chapters, knock on wood. My new goal is to wrap up The Second Industrial Revolution by June, 2028