Arthur Stanley Link was an American historian and educator, known as the leading authority on U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. Richard Levis McCormick is a historian, professor and president emeritus of Rutgers University.

"In this brief volume, Arthur Link and Richard L. McCormick have succeeded admirably in providing a stimulating overview of the various forces that served to shape the spirit and ideology of the progressive movement. ...they focus sharply on the array of ideological currents that variously characterized progressivism, thus giving it a texture that makes this dynamic reform period in American history much easier to understand." (The History Teacher, May 1994)

• One: Progressivism in History 1Who Were the Progressives? 3The Origins of Progressivism 11The Character and Spirit of Progressivism 21Two: A Transformation of Politics and Government 26Progressivism in the Cities and States 28Progressivism Moves to Washington 34The Decline of parties and the Rise of Interest Groups 47The Transformation of Governance 58Three: Social Justice and Social Control 67The Social Progressives 72The Reforming Professionals 85The Coercive Progressives 96Four: Epilogue: The Decline and Endurance of Progressivism 105Bibliographical Essay 119Index 141