Urban Problems

By: Gia Shepherd

The United States was characterized in the 1900's by a rapid increase in population resulting from rapid urbanization and immigration. This newfound density of people was a catalyst to the decline in American infrastructure and its resultant urban problems. The majority of people in urban settings were blue-collar laborers subject to poor working and living conditions, discrimination, and the resultant rise in alcoholism.

Major Leaders

Jacob A. Riis

Riis was a significant figure in the realm of social and urban reform. As a reporter for the New York Sun, Riis utilized his photographing and journaling expertise to bring awareness to the rise in urban problems- as well as their detrimental effects in civilians. His work encompassed issues such as poor housing, infrastructure, and education in urban areas, and compiled his collective findings into his book, "How the Other Half Lives". Riis' work brought public awareness to the living conditions of the poor, influencing even people in power such as President Roosevelt to take action.

Jane Addams

Jane Addams was a co-founder of the Hull House, which was Chicagoan social settlement that provided assistive services to the city's growing and struggling immigrant population. Addams also campaigned against child labor, sweatshops, tenement housing, and other detrimental issues, and eventually achieved a multitude of implemented reforms. These reforms include tenement housing regulation, factory inspection, worker's compensation, and tenement house regulation.

Theodore Roosevelt

As the 26th president of United States, Theodore Roosevelt was a large influence towards the reform of urban issues. His career was viewed as the exemplification of progressivism, and utilized his position of power to contribute to the solution of urban problems. Roosevelt established the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, as well as establishing the Bureau of Corporations, allowing for the investigation of businesses.

Lillian Wald

Lillian Wald strived to improve living conditions in New York City, and established the Henry Street Settlement to provide the industrial poor with healthcare, social services, and education. Wald integrated this settlement into political networks to bring about widespread change in New York City.

Robert Woods

Robert A. Woods was a key player in urban reform in Boston. Due to the dwindling housing in the city, poor living conditions and homelessness rates were increasing, motivating Woods to establish the South End House- Boston's first settlement house.

Major Events

First Avenue Estate

First Avenue estate was a multibuilding project established by the housing company, City and Suburban Homes, in order to provide industrial laborers with better living conditions, implementing homes with private halls, improved bathrooms, radiators, and other additions to improve living condition.

YMCA Movement

The Young Men's Christian Association, was founded in London in 1844, and was later established in the United States by Thomas Valentine Sullivan. the YMCA served as a refuge for young men, as well as providing access to classes, libraries, pools, and other recreational activities in order to improve the lives of the general urban population.

Settlement House Movement

Because of the growing urban slums, the Settlement House reform movement was established by Robert A. Woods provide the urban population with a gathering place that provided childcare, education, and other opportunities in order to bride the gap between social classes. This movement resulted in the establishment of over 400 predecessing settlement houses.

Municipal Market Reforms

The Municipal Market Reforms were changes implemented to a city's government in order to encourage that government's efficiency, responsiveness, and honesty. And thus established the foundation for modern muicipal government and solved some of the problems that were resultant of the goverment's lack of care in the Gilded Age.

Key Laws & Court Decisions

Tenement House Act of 1867

This act required all existing and to-be-built tenement houses to have fire escapes. In 1860, a tenement house caught fire, killing 10 people due to the building's lack of fire safety precautions, causing New York's first Fire Safety Egress Law, requiring fireproof stairs and balconies in houses built for 8 or more families, leading to the later established Tenement House Acts of 1867.

Tenement House Act of 1901

This act prohibited the construction of dumbbell tenement houses and set a minimum size requirement for those constructed houses. It also required these houses to have lighting, ventilation, and indoor bathrooms. This act was implemented to combat the rise in poor living conditions and provide the people subjected to them with a reprieve in infrastructural mistreatment.

18th Amendment

This amendment was implemented as a result of the temperance movement, and prohibited the manufacturing and selling of alcoholic beverages until its repeal in 1933. Many protestant reformers believed the rising popularity of alcohol to be the root cause of the prevalent urban and societal issues of the era, with organizations like the Women's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League enforcing that ideology.

Lochner v. New York

The Progressive Era had a multitude of social and economic challenges because of the rising rates of industrialization, and many senators sought to expand the role of the government relating to these issues. To do this however, it was necessary to get through to the Supreme Court, as courts held significant influence over what was determined to be "unconstitutional" resulting in weaker state regulations. An example of this power was the Lochner v. New York case, where the court ruled that a law limiting a baker's working hours was a constitutional infringement on the worker's "Liberty of Contract".

Hammer v. Dagenhart

The Supreme Court, as previously mentioned, had the ability to declare federal laws void if determined to be unconstitutional, as was the case of Hammer v. Dagenhart. Congress passed a law in 1916 prohibiting child labor, but this case declared that law to be unconstitutional despite there being no direct violation of constitutional standards.

Evaluation of Progressive Reform

Successes:

Many attempts at reform were implemented, with much success including the establishment of many organizations, laws, and other attempts at urban improvement including:

First Avenue Estates- Which provided industrial laborers with better living conditions

YMCA Movement- Which provided citizens with recreational activity

Settlement Houses- Which allowed for more accessible healthcare, childcare, and education

Tenement House Acts- Which improved the standard of living for multifamily estates

Shortcomings:

Some attempts at reform were negated or unsuccessful, slowing progress and decreasing the effectiveness of other efforts including:

The Temperance Movement- This was largely successful in its endeavors. but only decreased American morale and was largely viewed as an infringement on individual rights and personal freedom, resulting in the repeal of the 18th Amendment.

Restrictive Court Cases- Many court cases relating to urban reform largely exemplified the imbalance in governmental power and slowed the effectiveness of implemented urban reform ie. Lochner v. New York and Hammer v. Dagenhart.

Sources

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Riis

www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/jane-addams

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_Era

www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/theodore-roosevelt/

americanexperience.si.edu/glossary/tenement-house-act-of-1901/#:~:text=a%20New%20York%20State%20Progressive,better%20ventilation,%20and%20indoor%20bathrooms.

https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/people/woods-robert-archey/

https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/198us45

https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/247us251

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eighteenth-Amendmenthttps://www.britannica.com/topic/Eighteenth-Amendment

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1931/addams/biographical/

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/lillian-wald

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YMCA_of_the_USA

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