Thursday, Jan. 28: Populism & Progressivism

Due Thursday, Jan. 28:

Read these three texts:

• Addams, A Modern Lear, 1896
• Bryan, Cross of Gold, 1896
• Wilson, First Inaugural Address — in your textbook, pages 40-43

In your written response, answer these questions:

1. How does Addams’s picture of the relationship between capitalists and workers differ from Sumner’s picture? From Debs’s picture? Summarize the nature of the difference.
2. Summarize Bryan’s attitude toward capitalism and capitalists. Who is Bryan defending? How does his description of the problem and his proposed solution differ from William Graham Sumner’s? In what way(s) are they similar?
3. If Debs emphasized enlightenment humanitarianism, and Sumner emphasized Lockean liberalism, how would you characterize Wilson’s use of “The American Mixture”?
4. Identify an especially noteworthy sentence or two from each of these texts. Copy and paste or type them out here. Then be ready to discuss in class why you found them noteworthy.

In class, we will discuss these questions and others:

1. What sources of American argument do these authors draw upon? Lockean liberalism? Civic republicanism? Humanitarian Enlightenment? Civil religion?
2. Which do they leave out or argue against?