Reforming Society

Reforming Society Chapter 9 Sec 3

Reforming City Life • By 1920 50% of Americans lived in urban areas. • Cities struggled to provide: • Garbage collection • Safe and affordable housing • Health care • Police and fire protection • Adequate public education

Cleaning up the City • Various women’s and men’s clubs and reform societies asked for help to clean up cities. • Lawrence Veiler- Head of N.Y. State Tenement House Commission • Interviewed residents and discovered problems. • 1901 passed N.Y. Tenement House Act • new tenements built around open courtyards • contain/bathroom for each apartment or every 3 rooms

National Tuberculosis Association • Fun, special hospitals to treat disease • By 1915 death rate dropped significantly • 1908 Massachusetts Law Required cities with10,000 hold election to pay for at least one playground. • 41 of 42 cities passed it. • Some critics from middle and upper class objected to suing taxes to pay for poor

City Planning • First National Conference on City Planning was held in 1909 • Cleaner cities would produce better citizens • Beautiful cities would inspire patriotism. • Daniel Burnham was first to redesign a major city-Chicago 1909 • Other cities hired him • Only successful and fully built design was in Washington D.C. • City planning was necessary function • Parks • Building codes • Sanitation standards • Zoning

Moral Reform • Prohibition – ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages and closing of saloons • Reduce crime and breakup of families • McClure’s Magazine- George Kibbe Turner • “The Story of an Alcohol Slave, as Told by Himself.” • To truly reform U.S. cities, saloons must be closed • Colleges did not allow student athletes to drink • Industrialists tried to get workers not to drink • Text books had info on dangers of alcohol

Passage of Prohibition • Anti-Saloon League (ASL) and Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) • By 1902 ASL has branches in 39 states with 200 paid employees. • Many ministers spread message in church • Billy Sunday saloons were “the parent of crimes and mother of sins” • France Willard red WCTU from 1879-1889 force for temperance, moral purity, and women’s rights.

During WWI prohibitionists drew on patriotic sacrifice • U.S. Navy banned consumption of alcohol in 1914 • 1917 Congress passed 18th amendment states ratified in 1919 • proved unpopular and hard to enforce • repealed in 1933 with 21st amendment

Movie Going • Urban reformers believed movies were a threat to morality • “Great Train Robbery” first movie to tell a story- 1903 • by 1910 millions were going to movies each week • In 1916 NY times reported movies were 5th largest industry in U.S. • Nickelodeons provided cheap entertainment • Many mid class believed movies were immoral and sources of temptation • Reformers demanded censorship • States and cities set up censorships boards to ban movies they considered immoral • By 1909 movie industry censored itself

Progressivism and Racial Discrimination • Concerned about Plight of Poor • Few devoted much energy to Racial discrimination and prejudice • Some expressed open prejudice against Blacks and Native Americans

Views of W.E.B.Du Bois • Influential Black leaders emerged • Born 1886 in Massachusetts. • Attended mixed Sunday school classes • Not until high school did he realize his skin color caused people to dislike him. • Attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. • In 1895 he became the first black to earn a PHD from Harvard. • Taught at Atlanta University until 1910 • Strong supporter of civil rights • Access to college and vocational schools offered best chance • Blacks should be politically active

Booker T. Washington-opposing views • Blacks should not fight discrimination • Focus on education and economic prosperity • Throughout career W.E.B. Du Bois maintained interest in Africa. • 1920’s organized series of Pan African congresses that attracted black leaders from around world. • By 1950’s embraced socialism for its promise of social justice • In 1961 at age of 93, joined Communist Party and moved to Ghana- Died in 1963

African Americans Organize • In 1909 Du Bois and a group of black and white progressives met in N.Y. City • Discussed lynching of 2 men in Springfield, Illinois • NAACP- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was formed • Dubois edited The Crisis which publicized cases of racial inequality • By 1918 magazines circulation rose to 100,000

Used court system to fight civil rights restriction • 1915-Guinn v. U.S. • outlawed “grandfather” clause • This freed men from other voting requirements if their father or grandfathers had voted. • 1917 Buchanan v. Warleyoverturned a Louisville, Kentucky law requiring racially segregated housing. • National Urban League-1911 • Improve job opportunity and housing for urban African Americans

American Indians Organize • Dawes Act of 1887-Indians lost land to speculators and fell deeper in poverty by 50 middle class professional • Improve civil rights • Education • Health • Local government • Publicized accomplishments of Jim Thorpe • Some wanted strong native cultures while other favored assimilation • Some criticized Bureau of Indian Affairs for Mismanaging Reservations

Immigrants and Assimilation • Lobbied for improving immigrants lives as well as conditions in workplace and slums. • Some criticized immigrants for immoral behavior. • 1916 Madison Grant publishes “The Passing of the Great Race” • Expressed racist opinions about blacks, Jews, and immigrants from south and east Europe

Americanization-process of preparing foreign born residents for citizenship • Focus was on educating immigrants • Learn to read, write, and speak English. • Also U.S. history and government • Cities and states passed Americanization measures • 1924 Horace KallenWrote Culture and Democracy in U.S. • Supports pluralism or home to a number of distinctive cultures • Some immigrants supported Americanization without giving up ethnic identities

Reforming Society