Origins of the term progressive

• The term progressive was first used to refer to populist left wing ideologies at the turn of the 19th century within the United States. The "progressive" label was favored over "liberal" until the 1930s.
  
  

Beginnings of contemporary progressives

• Contemporary progressives have as their origins in the mass political movements of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s: Civil Rights, Feminism, and anti-Apartheid, among others.
  
  

Contemporary progressives

• Individuals and organizations espousing left wing ideology began to use the term progressive to refer to themselves beginning in the 1990s, primarily to distance themselves from negative connotations associated with the term liberal.
  
  

Limitations of the term

• Those referred to as "contemporary progressives'"or simply "progressives" encompass a wide variety of often conflicting ideologies. Organizations as diverse as socialists, libertarians, and centrist Democrats have all, at times, referred to themselves or their policies as progressive.
  
  

Examples of contemporary progressives

• President Barack Obama, Senator Al Franken, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton all refer to themselves as progressive; both the Democratic Party and the Green Party do as well.