About the Conference

President Bill Clinton presents the keynote address at an academic conference featuring a major scholarly re-evaluation of the Progressive Era, the two-decade period of political and social reform that began in 1900. The conference marks the centenary of Theodore Roosevelt’s election to the vice presidency in 1900 and his ascension to the White House a year later, following the assassination of President William McKinley.

“Theodore Roosevelt was really the first modern activist American president,” said Sean Wilentz, a Princeton history professor and conference co-organizer.

The discussion will not be limited to debate over the presidents. “To understand the Progressive Era requires coming to terms with many great Americans, including settlement-house workers such as Jane Addams, labor leaders such as Samuel Gompers, financiers such as J.P. Morgan and civil-rights pioneers such as W.E.B. Du Bois,” Wilentz said. “It also requires coming to terms with the broader political, social and cultural currents which all these figures represented.”

Participants include John Morton Blum, Alan Brinkley, John Milton Cooper Jr., Richard A. Epstein, Linda Gordon, Hendrik A. Hartog, Elizabeth Lunbeck, James M. McPherson, Nell Irvin Painter, Daniel T. Rodgers, Arthur Schlesinger Jr.,and Christine Stansell.

Panel discussions are open to the public. Admission to Clinton’s address is limited to Princeton students, faculty and staff selected by lottery. Members of the public and the University community may view the address at simulcast locations on campus, including McCosh 10, McCosh 50, Betts Auditorium, and the Frist Campus Center Multipurpose Rooms A, B and C.

Press Coverage

• Daily Princetonian: ‘Clinton lays claim to progressive tradition’
• Office of Communications: ‘President Clinton to speak at conference on Progressive Era’
• Office of Communications: ‘President Clinton speaks at conference on Progressive Era’