Social Reformers of the Progressive Era1
The Progressives，consisting of loosely organized or independent white，Anglo-Saxon，Protestant（WASP）2 men and women，led the way as social reformers.They proposed a wide variety of goals，remedies，and middle-class values to confront social ills such as corrupt government，unbridled wealth，exploitation of themasses，and unequal rights in a supposedly democratic republic.
Reformers also sought to enable fair competition within the capitalist economic system，asworkers organized themselves into labor unions to achieve better wages and conditions.In this environment，a series of conflicts between employers and their workers questioned the nature of American liberty，democracy，and opportunity.A national railroad strike in July 1877 crippled the transportation network，and Chicago witnessed the Haymarket M assacre3 on May 4，1886.Over the next eight years，Chicago suffered 528 strikes，at a cost of$9 million.
8-1 The Haymarket Massacre3
Progressive reformers devised a three-tiered procedure designed to assimilate the various ethnic and working-class groups residing within the national borders，and sporting activities factored into this process.The 1st step rested partly upon humanitarian concerns.Progressives campaigned for child labor laws that restricted full-time employment，but such measuresmet with opposition from parents.Progressives then passed mandatory education laws（the 2nd step）that required children to go to school.In this regard，physical education proved a boon and soon became a requirement（the 3rd step）in many public schools.Trained physical educators taught children to play competitive American sports such as baseball，football，and basketball，and these forms of competition ingrained the basic tenets of the capitalistic economic system；team sports also taught the rudiments of the cooperation and leadership necessary to a democracy.Moreover，supervised games taught deference to authority in the form of a coach，referee—a lesson cherished by capitalistic employers facing radical or stridently unhappy workers.Employers'ardent belief in the transformative powers of sport prompted them to provide funding，which，along with state resources，could be used to support the increasing number of public schools charged with achieving the acculturation goals.
8-2 Progressive Reformers