To what extent was Progressivism an expression of America’s old utopian tendencies reacting to the challenges of the industrial age?

Progressivism was most definitely an expression of the
utopian tendency in American attitudes.  It was the response of people with such utopian
ideas to the new challenges presented by the industrial
age.

Since the US was first created, many Americans have
felt that they could, with enough work, create a perfect society.  If they fell short,
they would at least be able to improve society in important ways and work toward
perfection.  During the industrial age, things seemed to be moving in the wrong
direction.  The country seemed to be getting taken over by rich industrialists on the
one hand and poor immigrants on the other.  At that point, people with utopian ideals
started a movement to take power away from (as they saw it) the greedy rich while, at
the same time, working to uplift the poor immigrants.  These reformers hoped to create a
utopia where all people shared the same communitarian and sober values that the
reformers themselves held.

It is therefore accurate to say
that the Progressive Era was an extensive reaction of utopians to the new problems of
the industrial age.