reform movements and political backlash (chapter 16/17 quiz)

People went away from cities and farms, not realizing their mistake until too late

Many people left urban areas and farms, not realizing their mistake until it was too late

Urban machines

Powerful local political organizations that controlled city governments

Private city

Cities run by private interests and corrupt officials rather than for the public good

Boss Tweed

Corrupt leader of Tammany Hall in New York City who used his position for personal gain

Ward boss Plunkitt

Political boss who admitted to practicing “honest graft,” using politics for profit

Thomas Nast

First famous political cartoon satire artist who exposed corruption through his art

Nast’s career

One of the first to make a career out of political cartoons, influencing public opinion

City cultures

As cities grew, new types of entertainment and culture developed

Urban amusements

Recreational activities that became popular in urban areas during industrialization

Disposable income

The growing middle class had extra money to spend on entertainment and leisure

Poor and amusements

The poor could not afford most recreational activities enjoyed by the middle class

Amusement parks

Built for the middle class as places for recreation and escape; the rich rarely attended

Central Park

Designed by Frederick Law Olmstead and built as a leisure space primarily for the wealthy

Ragtime and city blues

New musical styles that developed in southern cities like New Orleans and Charleston

Scott Joplin

Musician and composer who developed ragtime, which became the foundation for jazz

High culture

New York City wanted to compete with Europe by developing arts and educational institutions

Cultural institutions

Museums, opera houses, music halls, universities, and libraries were built to promote culture

Carnegie’s contributions

Andrew Carnegie funded music halls, universities, and libraries to help educate and uplift the poor

Baseball origin

According to legend, Abner Doubleday founded baseball in New York in 1839, though it may have started in Brooklyn or Hoboken

Civil War and baseball

The Civil War slowed the spread of baseball throughout the country

Cincinnati Reds

The first major league baseball team, founded in 1876

Football beginnings

The first college football game was played between Rutgers and Princeton

Professional football

Football did not become a professional sport until the 1920s

Emergence of sports

Sports gained popularity due to the rise of the middle class and their desire for recreation

Amusements, music, sports

Represented growing middle-class culture and leisure in American cities

Alexis de Tocqueville

French author who wrote about American democracy after visiting in the 1830s

De Tocqueville’s key idea

He believed the success of American democracy came from literacy and engagement with newspapers

Periodicals

Magazines like The Atlantic offered in-depth reporting and analysis for educated readers

Carl Schurz

Reform advocate who criticized corruption in American politics and government

Jacob Riis

Photojournalist who exposed poor living conditions in New York tenements

How the Other Half Lives

Jacob Riis’s book showing photos of poverty to raise awareness among the wealthy

Rise of social work

The profession of social work emerged to address poverty and inequality

Jane Addams

Founded Hull House in Chicago to provide shelter, food, and job skills for poor women

Hull House

A social settlement that helped women get off the streets and learn trades to become self-sufficient

Lillian Wald

Founded the Henry Street Settlement in New York City to support struggling women

Lincoln Steffens

Journalist who investigated city corruption and wrote The Shame of the Cities

Social reform

Reformers exposed the corruption of robber barons and pushed for change in society

Commission systems

Local governments created systems with specific departments like police and sanitation

Galveston, Texas

First city to adopt the commission system after a natural disaster

Theodore Roosevelt

Served as New York’s police commissioner, reformed the city, and became a model for honest leadership before becoming U.S. President

Joseph Pulitzer

Pioneer of modern journalism who created popular and influential urban newspapers

William Randolph Hearst

Wealthy newspaper owner who competed with Pulitzer for readership and influence

Pulitzer’s approach

Published both tabloids and respected papers and let readers form their own opinions

Hearst’s wealth

Even richer than Pulitzer but both shaped journalism and media competition

New York Times

Became the nation’s leading newspaper during this period

Pulitzer Prize

Prestigious award created to honor excellence in journalism and writing

Booker T. Washington

Formerly enslaved man who founded Tuskegee Institute to teach African Americans useful trades

Washington’s philosophy

Believed Black Americans would gain equality through skill, education, and gradual social advancement

Gradual assimilation

Idea that African Americans would slowly earn respect and equality by becoming skilled workers

Fear of backlash

Washington worried that pushing too fast for equality would provoke white hostility

W.E.B. Du Bois

First African American to earn a PhD from Harvard and a strong advocate for civil rights

Du Bois’s belief

Believed African Americans deserved equal rights immediately rather than gradually

Immediate assimilation

Du Bois argued for full equality and citizenship rights without delay

Ida B. Wells

Journalist and civil rights activist who exposed and campaigned against lynching

Wells’s mentor

Protégé of Frederick Douglass who encouraged her activism

Wells’s work

Exposed lynching as cruel, humiliating, and unjust, often targeting African Americans for minor or no offenses

Lynching outlawed

Lynching was not made a federal crime until 2022

Henry Dawes

Senator who sponsored the Dawes Severalty Act to break up Native American reservations

General Allotment Act

Forced Native Americans to take individual land plots to assimilate them into U.S. culture

Frances Willard

Leader of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union who fought against alcohol abuse

Temperance goals

Believed alcohol caused domestic violence, broke families apart, and deepened poverty

Andrew Carnegie

Industrialist who built the U.S. steel industry and later became a major philanthropist

Henry Clay Frick

Carnegie’s business partner who managed operations and opposed labor unions

Homestead Strike

Labor strike at Carnegie Steel that turned violent when Frick locked out workers and hired Pinkerton guards

Frick’s role

Ordered the lockout, brought in scabs and guards, leading to deaths of workers

Carnegie’s reaction

Increased his philanthropy and tried to distance himself from robber baron practices

Changing America

Industrialization and urbanization caused major political and social change in the U.S.

Democratic Party blame

Republicans accused Democrats of representing “rum, Romanism, and rebellion” (alcohol, Catholics, and Confederates)

Blaine and Cleveland

James Blaine lost the 1884 election to Grover Cleveland because he opposed those groups and lost support