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Chapter 9 Section 3. Reforming Society. Cleaning Up the City. Clubs and reform groups asked the government for help to rid the cities of garbage, regulate better housing and improving public education
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Chapter 9Section 3 Reforming Society
Cleaning Up the City • Clubs and reform groups asked the government for help to rid the cities of garbage, regulate better housing and improving public education • A man named Lawrence Veiller succeeded in getting the New York State Tenement House Act passed • Through this act the law required new buildings to have one bathroom for each apartment or for every three rooms. Also for the rooms to have access to light and fresh clean air • Others petitioned for the creation of a safe place to play. As a result millions of dollars were spent on playgrounds in the U.S.
City Planning • Progressives believed that cleaner cities would produce better citizens. That beautiful cities and impressive architecture would instill patriotism among the immigrant population • {In Chicago in 1909 Daniel Burnham, a leading architect and city planner,} produced the first plan to redesign a U.S. city • City planers in Cleveland, San Francisco and Washington D.C. also hired Burnham • Although some of his plans were never fully built, people realized that city planning was a necessary function of city governments
Moral Reform • Progressives also wanted to reform “immoral” behavior • They called for {Prohibitionor a ban on the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages} • Thousands of volunteer speakers spread the prohibition message one of them was {Billy Sunday, a former ball player who became a Presbyterian minister} • The Anti-Saloon League (ASL) andthe Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) led the war against alcohol. • {Led by Frances Willard the WCTU became a strong national force} • In 1917 Congress proposed the 18th Amendment and the states ratified it in 1919. (However, it was repealed in 1933)
Movie going • {Many reformers believed that motion pictures were a threat to morality and should be censored} • Declaring that movies promoted immoral values reformers demanded that films be censored. As a result the movie industry began censoring itself • {This debate has not change much over the years. Some are still concerned about the content of movies and want them censored. Others believe that film in an expression and that we have freedom of expression. The movie industry continues to censor itself in order to avoid government or other organizations invoking censorship}
Progressivism & Racial Discrimination • Progressives were concerned about the poor. However, very few white progressives devoted much energy to issues of discrimination against African Americans and American Indians • {Some progressives expressed open prejudice against African Americans and American Indians} • {One of the most influential African American leaders to come out of this period wasW.E.B. Du Bois} • In 1909 Du Bois and a group of African American and white progressives met in New York City. Out of this meeting came the {National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, (NAACP) an organization dedicated to ending racial discrimination}
Continued…. • {W.E.B. Du Bois edited The Crisis, the NAACP’s monthly magazine} • The NAACP use the court system to fight civil rights restrictions • In 1915 the NAACP won its first victory in {Guinn vs. United States where the Supreme Court ruled that the “grandfather clause” that exempted whites from laws that were passed to keep the African Americans from voting was unconstitutional} • The National Urban League also fought for racial equality one of their goals was to help African American’s moving from the south to the north adjust to their new lives and surroundings
American Indians Organize • In 1911 a group of Native Americans formed the Society of American Indians to improve civil rights, education, health and local government • Some members supported the strengthening of Native American culture. But most favored complete absorption into white American culture • The debate on these issues led to the groups’ decline • But it did lay the groundwork for later attempts to improve conditions for Native Americans
Immigrants & Assimilation • Reformers lobbied to improve conditions for immigrants • At the same time progressives criticized immigrants, accusing them of immoral behavior such as drinking and gambling • Many progressives supported Americanization, a process of preparing foreign-born residents for full U.S. citizenship, to make them more like native-born citizens • {Native Americans and some immigrants rejected help from reformers because the reformers did not respect their culture}
Review Questions • In the early 1910’s how much did women earn in a week on average? • The American Federation of Labor (AFL), refused to accept what type of workers? • In what city did Daniel Burnham, a leading architect and city planner, produced the first plan to redesign a U.S. city? • What is Prohibition? • What did reformers believed was a threat to morality and should be censored • Some progressives expressed open prejudice against what groups of people? • One of the most influential African American leaders to come out of this period was who?
