What was the stereotype of progressives in the US during the late 19th
century?
In nineteenth century America, racial progressivism involved fighting mainstream cultural stereotypes and working towards racial equality. [ During this period "most whites believed that blacks were innately inferior, that racial antagonism could not be overcome, and that blacks, at best, must remain a subservient group in white society."[3] These stereotypes of racial inferiority represent what the progressive element of the nineteenth century was battling against. Even among the progressives, there was a wide range of values, as Altschuler writes:
Many progressives shared the belief
that social conditions and not biology bred poverty and ignorance, and that government had a duty to protect citizens against the oppressive environment. A far smaller number of these reformers asserted that truly equal opportunity would give the lie to the myth of innate black inferiorit ]
Expert answered|selymi|Points 887|
