those times where progressives have had the upper hand and have changed the country for the

better.

Lux has delineated five "big change" eras in our past, where progressives have brought change that has helped shape America for the better, usually stimulated by some catastrophic event:

1. The American Revolution, starting with Thomas Paine's Common Sense, Jefferson's Bill of Rights and the birth of the nation
2. The Reconstruction era and the aftermath of the Civil War, with the Emancipation Proclamation and the Homestead Act
3. The turn of the 20th Century with Roosevelt's Anti-Trust Act, Food & Drug safety laws, and women's suffrage
4. The 1930s New Deal, with the establishment of Social Security and the Glass Steagall Banking Act
5. The 1960s with Civil Rights, the Voting Rights Act as well as environmental protection laws

Could we be on the precipice of another Big Change Moment? Certainly the last eight years under Bush could qualify for a catastrophic event that generates a big progressive push.