The Progressive Era, the New Deal, and the Great Society: a comparative study.

The Jeffersonian idea that liberty and equality would be best achieved by everyman pursuing his own interest and a federal government with greatly constrained powers is often seen as America’s traditional political philosophy. During the 20th century, three periods of government activism particularly called into question this philosophy: the Progressive Era, the New Deal and the Great Society. During these three atypical periods in American history, federal governement actively attempted to reform U.S. society with profundly similar objectives: winning social and economic justice, revitalizing public life and democracy, and unify a divided society. Their priorities and greatest achievements were different mostly because they occurred in different social, economic and political circumstances. But there was great continuity between the Progressive Era, the New Deal and the “Great Society”, which this paper intends to demonstrate.