The American Watershed, 1880–1920

Recent studies have raised serious questions about the significance of the 1880-1920 turning point in modern American history.  I defend the Wiebe analysis, focusing on four major developments:  the professionalization (1) that reflected decisive economic (2) and urban (3) transitions and that shaped the new role of experts (4) in all aspects of a growing and changing American society.  New and reorganized institutions for research and professional training emerged in the MidWest and West.  These institutions created new pathways into the growing middle class; the extent to which those pathways were open to women and minorities became a crucial aspect of twentieth-century social and political development in America.  These changes created a tension between democracy and expertise that is still today a major, unresolved American problem.