Regular New York Almanack contributor Bruce W. Dearstyne‘s latest book, Progressive New York: Change and Reform in the Empire State, 1900-1920 – A Reader (SUNY Press, 2024), provides a firsthand portrait of the progressive era, 1900–1920. This was a time of vast uncertainty and change — with major social and economic developments, including large-scale immigration, industrialization, and urbanization — roiling the nation.
New Yorkers were among the first to confront and develop policies to deal with these issues. Political reformers made government more accountable; workers achieved shorter hours and better working conditions; social workers fought poverty and urban overcrowding; women achieved the right to vote; Black citizens advanced the cause of opportunity and equality. Millions of immigrants enriched New York’s culture.
The book consists of dozens of documents from contemporary newspapers, periodicals, books, government reports and other sources, an explanation of each document, and a number of essays that frame the issues covered.
The documents were all written by people who made history happen or were eyewitnesses to the changes of the time. The book introduces readers to the foundational ideas and trends of the modern era.
It includes some familiar names such as Charles Evans Hughes. Jacob Riis and Emma Goldman but most of the people in the book are not well known, such as Alain Locke, Mary Beard, Abraham Cahan, Liberty Hyde Bailey, Horace M. Callan, Crystal Eastman and many others.
Bruce W. Dearstyne is a historian in Albany New York who holds a Ph.D. in History from Syracuse University. He has taught history at Russell Sage College, SUNY Potsdam, and SUNY Albany. His most recent books are The Crucible of Public Policy: New York Courts in the Progressive Era (2022); The Spirit of New York: Defining Events in the Empire State’s History (2022).
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