Test: Tuesday January 13th
Chapter 5:4-5 World Power: The Growth of Cities / Progressive Reforms
5:4 Terms to know
Settlement House
Community center where people could learn new skills.
Skyscraper
World’s first tall steel-frame building.
By the beginning of the 20th century, cities in the US were growing fast. Millions of Americans
were moving from farms to cities. Millions of immigrants were coming to American cities from
other countries. As cities grew, so did their problems.
City Problems
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Because tenements, apartment houses, were so crowded, when one person became ill,
disease spread quickly.
With so many people in cities, garbage piled up. There was no garbage collection.
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 burned for 24 hours, killing 300 people and leaving
90,000 people homeless.
Help for the Cities’ Poor
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In 1889 Jane Addams started Hull House in Chicago. They ran a kindergarten for whose
mothers worked.
The Hull House workers also taught sewing, cooking, and English language.
By 1900 almost 100 settlement houses had opened in American cities.
The Changing City
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William Jenney made taller buildings with steel frames.
In 1885 Jenney finished building the ten-story Home Insurance Company Building in
Chicago. It was the world’s first tall steel–frame building, skyscraper.
The first electric elevator was put into a skyscraper in New York City in 1889.
In 1865 most cities had streetcars that were pulled by horses.
In 1871 Andrew S. Hallidie invented the cable car.
In late 1880s, Frank Sprague built an electric streetcar.
*Scott Joplin, (1868-1917) African American composer whose music became popular during this
time. Joplin’s first important song, Maple Leaf Rag, used the ragged rhythm and complicated
melodies of a kind of music called ragtime. Joplin became known as the King of Ragtime.
5:5 Terms to know
Progressive
Political Boss
Person who worked to improve life for those who were not wealthy.
Elected official-who has many dishonest employees and who is able to
control the government with the help of those employees.
Commission
Special committee.
Merit System
System in which a person is tested to make sure he or she can do the job
before the job is offered.
Monopoly
Company that has little or no competition.
Conservation
Protection of the environment by keeping natural resources from being
wasted or destroyed.
Civil Rights
Rights guaranteed to all citizens by the Constitution.
Prohibition
Plan to stop people in the United States from drinking alcoholic beverages.
*Progressives wanted to make life for Americans better in some ways.
City and State Reforms
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Political bosses were elected. Bosses were elected or reelected in illegal ways: 1) Votes
were counted twice 2) Votes were paid with cash or favors 3) Some helped immigrants
get jobs and have good housing
William Tweed – Mayor of New York – robbed NY for millions by controlling the police
department.
To try to stop corrupters, cities set up commission governments.
Robert M. Follette (Governor of Wisconsin in 1900), worked for reforms at state level. He
passed laws that created the following;
o Developed merit system
o Passed legislature where workday could be no longer than 10 hours.
o Listed jobs children could not be hired to do.
o State would pay workers who were hurt on the job.
*Ida Tarbell, (1854-1944), leading reporter who began her investigation of John D. Rockefeller’s
Standard Oil Company. Two years later, she published her book, History of the Standard Oil
Company. Her uncovering Rockefeller’s unfair business practices made her the most famous
woman journalist of her time. In 1906 she founded the American Magazine.
The Square Deal
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President Roosevelt believed in the progressive movement.
Roosevelt started a government program called the Square Deal to make sure all
Americans were given the same opportunities to succeed.
o Roosevelt’s progressive policies were big business (monopolies).
o Make food/medicines safe for people (passed Pure Food and Drug Act 1906).
o Protection of environment, example Pelican Island, in Florida, Federal Bird
Reservation.
Other Federal Reform
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16th Amendment – Required Americans to pay a national income tax.
17th Amendment – People elect their own Senators rather than state legislatures.
Early Civil Rights
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African Americans were working for their civil rights. They had to go to separate schools,
churches, theaters, and restaurants.
Segregation of laws became known as Jim Crow Laws.
Jim Crow was an imaginary African American character who acted silly and never stood
up for himself.
In 1909, WEB Dubois and progressive leaders organizes NAACP, National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People. They worked to change laws that did not give
full rights to African Americans and other minority groups.
Improving Society
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Since there were so many people looking for work, factory workers were able to hire
those who were willing to work for little pay.
Parents had to send their children to work because they could not support their family.
By the late 1800’s, there were 1 million children working in mines and factories. Children
worked long hours and in dangerous conditions.
By 1914, almost every state had passed laws that limited child labor and stated that
children must attend school.