AS THE GAP BETWEEN RICH and poor widened in the 1890s, a group of reformers demonstrated a willingness to use the government to counterbalance the power of private interests and in doing so redefined liberalism in the twentieth century. Faith in activism united an otherwise diverse group of progressive reformers. A sense of Christian mission inspired some. Others, fearing social upheaval, sought to remove some of the worst evils of urban industrialism — tenements, child labor, and harsh working conditions.

Much of progressive reform began at the grassroots level and percolated upward into local, state, and eventually national politics as reformers attacked the social problems fostered by urban industrialism. Although progressivism flourished in many different settings across the country, urban problems inspired the progressives’ greatest efforts. In their zeal to “civilize the city,” reformers founded settlement houses, professed a new Christian social gospel, and campaigned against vice and crime in the name of “social purity.” Allying with the working class, women progressives sought to better the lot of sweatshop garment workers and to end child labor. These local reform efforts often ended up being debated in state legislatures and in the U.S. Congress.