Social Reforms Progressive Era

Urban Slums -- Reforms Settlement Movement Goal = get the rich and the poor in society to live and work closely together Established “settlement houses” Volunteer middle-class settlement workers would live with their low-income neighbors hoping to share knowledge and culture with them

Jane Addams and Hull House Dedicated life to aiding urban poor Pioneer social worker Established Hull House in Chicago Provided Social Services to the poor Taught cooking classes, hygiene, responsibilities of citizenship Provided child care and kindergarten Won the Nobel Peace Prize

How do you think settlement houses like Hull House benefitted the urban poor?

Reforming the Urban Slums New York State Tenement House Law Banned the construction of dark, poorly ventilated tenement buildings Required that new buildings be built with out-ward facing windows in every room Required indoor toilets and fire safeguards

Reforming the Urban Slums During the Progressive Era, we have laws and reforms that Help poor learn skills to become more self- sufficient Provided maternity and childcare for new mothers (Sheppard Towner Act) Set guidelines for new housing buildings

Working Conditions Child Labor Laws Many of the early laws at the federal level were overturned (Keating- Owen Act, “Tax on Employment of Child Labor” However, states took action By 1929, every state had a law that banned children under 14 working

Working Conditions 8 hour workday! Adamson Act – railroad workers Muller v Oregon –white women

Working Conditions Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (1916) Extended financial assistance to injured workers Became the precedent for “disability insurance” today

Reforming Working Conditions Child labor laws put in place Laws setting safety guidelines Laws limiting work day hours Minimum wage laws (in Oregon and Massachusetts) Disability Compensation

Consumer Safety Pure Food and Drug Act – made it illegal to mislabel food and drug products Meat Inspection Act – worked to prevent misbranded and tainted meat from being sold to consumers

Education Reform Number of schools increased due to Progressive Reforms School became mandatory in many states for children The Smith-Hughes Act (1917) provided one million dollars to states that agreed to improve their public schools

Prohibition 18th Amendment – outlawed sale and distribution of alcohol http://www.history.com/topics/prohibition