A Fierce Discontent

Write an essay analyzing and critiquing the experiences of minority groups—African-Americans, Native Americans, or non-Western European immigrants—in the midst of progressive reform at the turn-of-the-century in America.

Analyze the title of McGerr’s book: A Fierce Discontent. Explain the extent to which you think this title appropriately encapsulates the nature of the progressive movement in America at the turn-of-the-century.

One of the core American values that progressive reformers wanted to eradicate was the doctrine of individualism. Analyze the roles of individualism and association—the progressives’ counterpoint to individualism—in shaping the behaviors of the American people at the turn-of-the-century.

McGerr frequently refers to boundaries, borders, and space to describe what it felt like to live life as an American at the turn-of-the-century. Using examples of boundaries, borders, or space from McGerr’s book, write an analysis of one of these symbols, explaining how it explains the American experience at the turn-of-the-century.

Progressives were fearful of the new culture of pleasure and commercial entertainment that emerged at the beginning of the 20th century. Analyze the role of the new culture of pleasure in the Progressive Era, and explore the consequences of the pursuit of pleasure for the entirety of the progressive movement.

The progressives eventually came to believe and insist that those who have the power in society must work to change the external living conditions—like their wages, work hours, or access to education—of others in order to get people to give up their vices and change negative behaviors. Using specific examples from the text, write an essay that advocates for or questions the progressives’ claim that changing a person’s living conditions can change their values and behaviors. 

Progressive reformers believed that the availability of certain vices—liquor, prostitution, dance halls—caused the decline of domesticity. They believed that if they could curtail participation in these vices, the number of divorces in society would decrease, and families would have happier home lives. Write an essay explaining your agreement or disagreement with the progressives’ belief that eliminating external vices would preserve domesticity as they knew it.

Jim Crow laws and racial segregation were key products of progressive reform efforts at the turn-of-the-century. Many progressives claimed that segregation was beneficial because it ensured the safety of and harmony among everyone in society. Using examples from the text, critique the claim that segregation was a beneficial force in American society at the turn-of-the-century.