From The Hacienda

Welcome back, everybody!

The theme for the first three books of the year is American Presidents. We start the new year with a discussion of Unreasonable Men: Theodore Roosevelt and the Republicans Who Created Progressive Politics by Michael Wolraich.

The Book Club will meet on Friday, February 7th, 2020 at 10:00 am. Please let me know whether or not you plan to attend.

1. I had the following email exchange with the author, Michael Wolraich.

----- Forwarded Message -----

From: Michael Wolraich

To: "tciarriocco@yahoo.com"

Sent: Monday, December 30, 2019, 12:31:17 PM PST

Subject: Re: Form Submission - - Unreasonable Men

Hi Tony, thank you for choosing Unreasonable Men for your book club. I hope that your members enjoy it.

To answer your first question, there are many lessons to be taken from the Progressive Era. The question that I focused on was, “How does political change happen?” In the early 1900s, the U.S. emerged from a long period of political stasis and entered one of the most dynamic political periods in American history. How did the early progressive leaders help bring this transformation about?

To your second question, I focused on two leaders in particular: President Theodore Roosevelt and Senator Bob La Follette of Wisconsin. Both were progressive Republicans, but they had very different styles and strategies. TR was cautious and pragmatic; La Follette was audacious and defiant. In the book, I explored which strategy was more effective for creating change. (I should also note that I meant the term “unreasonable men” ironically. It’s a reference to a famous line from playwright George Bernard Shaw: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”)

On the third question, the Progressive Movement was certainly a reaction to the Gilded Age, but the term “excesses” makes the issue seem simpler than it was. The problem wasn't simply that some people had become extravagantly rich. Progressive reformers were also responding to political corruption, predatory business practices, deplorable working conditions, environmental degradation, and other social ills associated with the Gilded Age.

I hope these answers are helpful. Thank you again for choosing Unreasonable Men.

Best regards,

Michael Wolraich

On Dec 30, 2019, at 10:38 AM, Squarespace <no-reply@squarespace.info> wrote:

Name: Tony Ciarriocco

Email Address: tciarriocco@yahoo.com

Subject: Unreasonable Men

Message: Your book, Unreasonable Men, will kick off the new year for the Homestead Museum's Nonfiction Book Club. In 2020 the Book Club will discuss books about Presidents, Women's Suffrage, and local, southern California history.

The Homestead Museum is in the City of Industry, CA, where I am a docent and book club facilitator. The Museum covers local and American history from 1830 to 1930 through the lives of the Workman and Temple families.

Progressivism had a major impact on California history in the early 20th century and has evolved into the 21st century.

What are the main lessons from this era of U. S. history?
Is there a specific "unreasonable man" that we should consider?
Did Gilded Age excesses contribute to the development of progressivism?

Thank you for your book and any additional thoughts that you may have.

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2. "Uncle" Joe Cannon - Speaker of the House

Joseph Gurney Cannon | Encyclopedia.com