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Président de l’Université du Wisconsin entre 1874 et 1887, le philosophe John Bascom profita de son mandat pour étendre ses théories aux problèmes sociaux et économiques. C’est ainsi qu’il se trouva à l’avant-garde des mouvements en faveur de la prohibition, des droits des femmes et des droits syndicaux. Il contribua aussi au progressisme du Wisconsin par son influence sur l’un de ses étudiants, le futur gouverneur Robert M. LaFollette, qui lui vouait une immense admiration. Cet article analyse l’apport de Bascom à la «culture du progrès».

John Bascom served as president of the University of Wisconsin from 1874 to 1887. He had won recognition for his philosophical writings before his appointment to Wisconsin and during his presidency applied his views to social and economic issues. He thus became a champion of temperance, women’s rights, and labor organization. He further contributed to Wisconsin progressivism through the influence he had on his student, and great admirer, the future reform governor Robert M. LaFollette. This essay examines Bascom’s contribution to the “culture of progress.”