Awakening of Reform

Urban problems created a new social consciousness among middle class Journalists began publishing books that criticized laissez-faire economics These books created an enthusiasm and optimism to create reform movements/organizations to try and implement these authors’ ideas Encouraged a shift in public opinion away from pure laissez-faire policies to greater govt. regulation Social Criticism

Many young middle-class men and women went to live in poor immigrant neighborhoods Concerned about the poor, wanted to learn about their lives first-hand Lived and worked in places called settlement houses Provided social services for people in the neighborhood Most famous was Hull House in Chicago Started by Jane Addams and a college classmate in 1889 Settlement Houses

Settlement Houses Settlement houses: Taught English to immigrants Pioneered early education Taught industrial arts Established neighborhood theaters and schools 1910: over 400 settlement houses in large cities Settlement house workers set the foundation for social work in the future Also political activities who crusaded for child labor laws, housing reform, and women’s rights Settlement Houses

1880s-1890s: Protestant clergy began preaching the Social Gospel Importance of applying Christian principles to social problems Walter Rauschenbusch led the Social Gospel movement Baptist minister from New York who lived in Hell’s Kitchen Wrote several books urging organized religions to take up the cause of social justice The Social Gospel movement linked Christianity with the Progressive Movement Encouraged many Protestants to become involved in social, urban problems Social Gospel

Religions both adapted and were changed by this new urban society Roman Catholicism grew rapidly from influx of new immigrants Salvation Army was brought over from England in 1879 Provided basic necessities to homeless and poor while preaching Christian gospel Church of Christ, Scientist (Christian Science) was also established during this time Religion & Society

Families in Urban Society Urban life isolated parents and children from the extended family and village/town support Divorce rates increased greatly by 1900 Expanded grounds for divorce to include cruelty and desertion In the city, children were an economic liability vs. being an asset if you were living on a farm In the last decades of the 19th century, the average birthrate and family size declined Families in Urban Society

Voting Rights for Women Cause of women’s suffrage began with the Seneca Falls convention in 1848 Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony helped found the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) to secure voting rights for women 1869: Wyoming the first state to grant women’s suffrage By 1900: some more states allowed women to vote; most allowed women to hold and own property Voting Rights for Women

Excessive drinking was thought to be one of the main causes of poverty and crime for immigrant and working-class families Women’s Christian Temperance Movement (WCTU) advocated for total abstinence of alcohol Grew to 500,000 members by 1898 Antisaloon League founded in 1893 and became a powerful political force- persuaded 21 states to close down all saloons and bars by 1916 Carry A. Nation created a sensation by raiding bars and saloons, smashing barrels and bottles with a hatchet while reciting the Bible Temperance Movement

Grassroots efforts arose to combat corruption in city governments A young Theodore Roosevelt tried to clean up the NYPD His efforts here made him a vice-presidential nominee in 1896, and later the president Many of these reformers would not see their efforts realized and have a significant impact until the early 20th century Urban Reforms

Growing complexity of urban life and reactions to Darwin’s new theory of evolution raised the question about what schools should be teaching After 1865: elementary schools continued to teach the 3 R’s (reading, writing, arithmetic) and traditional values promoted in the McGuffey Readers New compulsory attendance laws dramatically increased enrollment in public schools Literacy rate rose to 90% of the population by 1900 Practice of sending children to kindergarten (a concept borrowed from Germany) reflected growing interest in early- childhood education Changes in Education

Growing support for tax-supported public high schools At first followed college curriculums, but began to offer more comprehensive classes- vocational and citizenship education Number of U.S. colleges increased in late 1800s due to several factors: Land-grant colleges Universities founded by wealthy philanthropists Founding of new colleges for women 1900: 71% of colleges admitted women Made up one-third of enrolled students Changes in Education

Changes in Higher Education College curriculum also changed greatly Required courses were reduced, more electives introduced More modern languages and sciences were taught (physics, chemistry, biology, geology) Johns Hopkins the first institution to specialize in advanced graduate studies Innovations in college curricula produced America’s first generation of scholars who could compete with the intellectual achievements of Europe Colleges also began adding social activities, fraternities, club sports, etc. that would come to dominate the college experience for many Changes in Higher Education

The Scientific Method and Darwin’s theory of evolution revolutionized the sciences in the late 19th century A new field known as the social sciences emerged Psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science Emphasized greater study of the effects of human behavior on social, political, economic events rather than rely on logical abstractions (like laissez-faire ideas) The Social Sciences

Changes in Professions Changes in science influenced the work of doctors, educators, social workers, and lawyers Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. argued law should evolve with the times in response to changing needs Not remain restricted by legal precedents or judicial decisions of the past Clarence Darrow, a famous lawyer, argued criminal behavior could be caused by a person’s environment of poverty, neglect, abuse Not insanity or evil ways These social changes proved a boost to the Progressive Movement in the early 20th century Changes in Professions

What types of services did settlement houses provide What types of services did settlement houses provide? What did they set the foundation for? What did the Social Gospel movement emphasize? How did the nature of families change during the turn of the 20th century? What was a positive outcome of the major changes in college curricula in the U.S. in the early 20th century? How did the social sciences change perspectives and attitudes about economics and the law? ?