I think you are mistaken in your thinking that "progressivism" and the Civil War are unconnected. I think they are very much connected, and in fact "Progressivism" was the natural consequence of these people attaining power as a consequence of the civil war.
The feminist icons were all abolitionists. The big money wealthy of New York, financed all the progresivism, and many of the "progressives" were from this same North Eastern big wealth environment.
Lincoln was the first Progressive President.
There is so much connectivity between the Civil War and Progressivism that I don't even know where to start in explaining it to you. I think you are simply unaware of it because you never thought of looking at it in this manner.
Take another look at all the "progressive" heroes, and their backgrounds and places of origin. Look at where their ideas first took root.
Everything is connected. But directly connected, no. The issue with progressives is always ideology. Specifically its relation to growing government bigger. One of the most defining characteristics of progressivism is an outward disdain or rejection for the Founding of this country.
"There is so much connectivity between the Civil War and Progressivism that I don't even know where to start in explaining it to you."
If I were to compare Lincoln's speeches to Alexander Stephens' Cornerstone Speech, where am I more likely to find a rejection of the Founders? A candid reading would answer it's in the Cornerstone where "all men are created equal" is unequivocally rejected.
But just to be clear, that doesn't matter. Because there isn't a direct link.
"The feminist icons were all abolitionists. The big money wealthy of New York, financed all the progresivism, and many of the "progressives" were from this same North Eastern big wealth environment."
This is all grasping. The early abolitionists were Founders themselves, are we going to surrender Benjamin Franklin to the progressives? Were John Jay and John Hancock now just some rich elitist snob establishment progressives? Well they were northeasterners. Where does this nonsense end?
The ideological lineage goes cold at about 1900. There is no direct links beyond that. The ideology means absolutely everything.