Chapter 18: The Age of the City
Armory Show
an event in New York City that displayed works of the French postimpressionists and of some American modern artists; supported by the Ashcan artists
Ashcan school
art movement whose members produced work startling in its naturalism and stark in its portrayal of the social realities of the era
city beautiful movement
led by architect Daniel Burnham, the movement sought to impose order and symmetry on the disordered life of American cities
Coney Island
the famous and popular amusement park located on a Brooklyn beach
consumerism
an increased focus on purchasing goods for personal use; the protection or promotion of consumer interests
Darwinism
the argument that the human species had evolved from earlier forms of life through a process of "natural selection"
Jacob Riis
New York newspaper photographer who wrote How the Other Half Lives, which used photos and words to expose the harshness of tenement life
Kate Chopin
a southern writer who explored the oppressive features of traditional marriage; known for her shocking novel The Awakening
National Consumers League (NCL)
formed in the 1890s under the leadership of Florence Kelley; goal was to force retailers and manufacturers to improve wages and working conditions
Public Health Service
organization created in 1912; goal was to prevent occupational diseases and create common health standards
Tammany Hall
urban machine led by famously corrupt city boss William M. Tweed
tenements
by the late nineteenth century, this was a descriptor used for slum dwellings
Theodore Dreiser
author of Sister Carrie, which focused on the plight of single women
vaudeville
a form of theater adapted from French models; the most popular urban entertainment into the first decades of the twentieth century
William James
Harvard psychologist and most prominent publicist of pragmatism
William M. Tweed
the famously corrupt boss of New York's political machine Tammany Hall
William Randolph Hearst
the most powerful U.S. newspaper chain owner; by 1914, he controlled nine newspapers and two magazines