At the turn of the twentieth century, middle-class reformers joined hands with the Chicago Federation of Labor, a conglomerate of diverse unions, to advocate municipal control of the city's streetcars. Streetcars encompassed a host of Progressive concerns: control of service enterprises, the crusade against corruption, and the uses and public nature of city spaces. Most important, the alliance between workers and reformers embodied Progressivism's central ideal - overcoming class conflict.
At the turn of the twentieth century, middle-class reformers joined hands with the Chicago Federation of Labor, a conglomerate of diverse unions, to a...
