When I started this paper I assumed it would be possible to identify the various schools such as revisionist, post revisionist and New Left historians. When I began to refine my thesis, I found that there is no one true school. Instead, business, history and politics had wrapped themselves into various movements such as Libertarianism (including both Right-libertarianism and Left-libertarianism), Populist, Liberalism, as well as Conservative and Socialist movements within the United States. Capitalism has become so enmeshed into the politics of this nation, one cannot effectively parse the history of capitalism without delving into the political arena. More importantly, capitalism has been reshaped from its original premise of laissez-faire
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The Progressive movement has from the late 1800s has been based on the Jeffersonian ideals of small farmers and shopkeepers guided by the intellectual elite. The Progressive/Liberal movement against laissez-faire capitalism have associated the accumulation of wealth (regardless of how it was obtained) as dangerous to their social order as established by basically a White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP) ethic. This recalcitrance to other’s profit has shaped the political landscape from the 1880s forward by means of Federal regulations and incremental encroachment through all three branches (or 4th if you count the Federal bureaucracy). The derogatory term “robber barons” and has been replaced by the ongoing utterance of the “1%”. The Conservative movement on the other hand has recognized the exploitation of resources, whether it be natural, human talent or labor or the financial market as a means to establish a business. Profit is/was the driving factor (if you build it, they will come) to American capitalism. The Progressive movement has used its influence and directions to reshape the American capitalistic system with a long term vision and plan of action. Whereas free market or laissez-faire capitalism “exploits” resources; whether it be land, people or money; the Progressive agenda has been one of constriction or intervening through a variety of mechanisms to reign in or …show more content…
President Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to fully subscribe to the Progressive notion that government should be more active in social and economic affairs, regardless of whether such activism violated the Constitution. Roosevelt’s efforts to reform and regulate business exemplified this notion. However, his lack of private sector experience only increased the power of the corporate/government alliance in America at the people’s expense. Roosevelt singled out the railroads through his anti-trust actions. At President Roosevelt’s urging, Congress passed the “Elkins Act” and its replacement the “Hepburn Act”, which tightened control over railroads by prohibiting freight discounts and empowering a federal bureaucracy to inspect railroad accounts and set rates (strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission’s role). These actions were part of the “Square Deal” which was implemented by President Roosevelt and his Progressive Movement. It sought to control three areas of capitalism: natural resources, corporations and consumer protection. The implementation of the “Hepburn Act” led to the devaluation of railroad securities and which in part led to the “The Panic of 1907.” Only by the intervention of JP Morgan was the financial solvency of the United States
The Progressive movement has from the late 1800s has been based on the Jeffersonian ideals of small farmers and shopkeepers guided by the intellectual elite. The Progressive/Liberal movement against laissez-faire capitalism have associated the accumulation of wealth (regardless of how it was obtained) as dangerous to their social order as established by basically a White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP) ethic. This recalcitrance to other’s profit has shaped the political landscape from the 1880s forward by means of Federal regulations and incremental encroachment through all three branches (or 4th if you count the Federal bureaucracy). The derogatory term “robber barons” and has been replaced by the ongoing utterance of the “1%”. The Conservative movement on the other hand has recognized the exploitation of resources, whether it be natural, human talent or labor or the financial market as a means to establish a business. Profit is/was the driving factor (if you build it, they will come) to American capitalism. The Progressive movement has used its influence and directions to reshape the American capitalistic system with a long term vision and plan of action. Whereas free market or laissez-faire capitalism “exploits” resources; whether it be land, people or money; the Progressive agenda has been one of constriction or intervening through a variety of mechanisms to reign in or …show more content…
President Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to fully subscribe to the Progressive notion that government should be more active in social and economic affairs, regardless of whether such activism violated the Constitution. Roosevelt’s efforts to reform and regulate business exemplified this notion. However, his lack of private sector experience only increased the power of the corporate/government alliance in America at the people’s expense. Roosevelt singled out the railroads through his anti-trust actions. At President Roosevelt’s urging, Congress passed the “Elkins Act” and its replacement the “Hepburn Act”, which tightened control over railroads by prohibiting freight discounts and empowering a federal bureaucracy to inspect railroad accounts and set rates (strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission’s role). These actions were part of the “Square Deal” which was implemented by President Roosevelt and his Progressive Movement. It sought to control three areas of capitalism: natural resources, corporations and consumer protection. The implementation of the “Hepburn Act” led to the devaluation of railroad securities and which in part led to the “The Panic of 1907.” Only by the intervention of JP Morgan was the financial solvency of the United States