apush unit 7

How did mass transit impact the development of cities?

• allowed for high speed underground trains and trolleys

• the wealthy lived outside the cities so they can have refuge from pollution and the perceived dangers of the city

How did electricity change cities?

Electric streetlights replaced gaslights on city streets. It made residents feel safer, nightlife more appealing, and shop fronts got lit up.

Patterns of immigration in the late 1800s and early 1900s

• Many Italians were recruited by Padron’s, or labor bosses, found work in Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic cities

• The most amount of immigrants in Boston were Irish, Swedes, and Germans

Ellis Island was New York’s main immigration facility. Angel Island in San Francisco processed many Asian immigrants, especially the Chinese and Japanese.

Experience of African Americans in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s

African Americans confronted conditions even worse than foreign born immigrants.

• They were relentlessly turned away from manufacturing jobs, and most took up work in the service sector

• They faced race riots where white mobs attacked them by street alterations or rumors of crime

Tenements

Buildings that housed twenty or more families in cramped, airless apartments. It fostered rampant disease and horrific infant mortality.

How did Americans find amusement within the cities?

• The Vaudeville Theater allowed customers to walk in anytime and watch musical acts, skits, and music shows

• Amusement parks allowed people to enjoy roller coasters, lagoon plunges, and dance shows

• Music was booming which allowed African Americans to become stars with the rise of ragtime

Yellow Journalism

A sensationalist style of reporting that exaggerated stories to increase sales and influence public opinion.

• Example: Exaggerated reports on Spanish atrocities in Cuba, contributing to war fervor before the Spanish-American war

Muckrakers

Progressive Era journalists who exposed corruption, social injustices, and corporate abuses which led to public awareness and reforms.

Notable muckrakers:

• Upton Sinclair exposed the horrors of the meat-packing industry in his book The Jungle, leading to the Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)

• Ida Tarbell exposed Standard Oil’s monopolistic practices

• Lincoln Steffens revealed political corruption in The Shame of the Cities

Political Machines

Political machines were powerful party organizations that controlled local and state governments in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often through corrupt means. They relied on patronage, bribery, and voter manipulation to maintain power, offering jobs and services to immigrants and the poor in exchange for votes.

One of the most infamous political machines was Tammany Hall in New York City, led by Boss Tweed, who embezzled millions through graft and fraudulent contracts. While political machines were corrupt, they also helped integrate immigrants into American society by providing jobs, housing, and legal assistance. There was also massive public projects such as sewage systems, bridges, and parks.

• The Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883) weakened their influence by requiring government jobs to be awarded based on merit rather than political loyalty.

Political machines and the poor urban class/immigrants

Immigrants could rely on political machines for jobs and emergency aid. Middle class reformers condemned immigrants for supporting machines. It also kept immigrants dependent on machine bosses who prioritized power.

Lincoln Steffens

One of the most famous muckrakers whose book The Shame of the Cities, denounced the corruption afflicting America’s urban governments. He used dramatic language to expose “swindling” politicians.

Jacob Riis

• included photographs of tenement interiors in his famous 1890 book, How the Other Half Lives

• Riis had a profound influence on Theodore Roosevelt when he asked Riis to lead him on tours around the tenements to help him better understand the problems of poverty, disease, and crime

What was the “city beautiful” movement?

It advocated for more and better urban park spaces. They made room for skating rinks, tennis courts, and swimming pools.

Jane Addams

• Founder of Hull House in 1889 which served as a spark plug for community improvement and political reform.

• Her views were influenced by fellow Hull House resident Florence Kelley, who returned from Europe as a committed socialist

• Hull House offered a bathhouse, playground, kindergarten, and a day care center.

Margaret Sanger

Margaret was a nurse and was horrified by women’s suffering from constant pregnancies, so she advocated for what she called birth control.

Florence Kelley

• Became the head of the National Comsumers’ League and believed only government oversight could protect exploited workers

• The NCL became one of the most powerful progressive organizations advocating for worker protection laws

Upton Sinclair

Exposed some of the most extreme forms of labor exploitation in his novel The Jungle.

• The book described appealing conditions in Chicago’s meat packing plants. His description of rotten meat and filthy packing conditions led Congress to pass the Pure Food and Drug Act and created the Food and Drug Administration to oversee compliance with the new law.

Progressivism

• An overlapping set of movements to combat the ills of industrialization and had important roots in the city

• Reformers invented new forms of civic participation that shaped the course of national politics

Triangle Shirtwaist Company

A fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist company and quickly spread through the three floors. Panicked workers discovered that, despite fire safety laws, employers had locked the emergency doors to prevent theft. Dozens of workers, mostly young immigrant women, were trapped in the flames.

• New York State appointed a factory commission that developed 56 laws dealing with issues such as fire hazards, unsafe machines, and working hours for women.

William McKinley

• Supported big businesses and protective tariffs

• His presidency ended when he was assassinated in 1901 by anarchist Leon Czolgosz

Theodore Roosevelt (Pre-president)

Theodore Roosevelt was a New York State legislator, NYC police commissioner, and assistant secretary of the Navy

How did Roosevelt attack trusts and conservation issues?

• He attacked trusts by using the Sherman Antitrust Act to break up monopolies

• For conservation, he created national parks, wildlife refuges, and protected millions of acres of land

How did Roosevelt cause a split in the Republican party?

Roosevelt challenged conservative Republicans who did not want reform. In 1912, he ran as a Progressive candidate which divided Republican voters and helped Democrat Woodrow Wilson win.

Robert Lafollette

• A progressive governor and senatir

• Called for recall (removing officials from office) and referendum (allowing citizens to vote on laws), increasing public control of the government

How did the government begin to protect the poor during the Progressive Era?

They implemented labor laws, child labor restrictions, and minimum wage laws.

W.E.B DuBois vs. Booker T. Washington

• W.E.B DuBois advocated for immediate civil rights, higher education for black Americans, and cofounded to NAACP

• Booker T. Washington, however, favored economic self reliance over direct activism

What was the IWW?

It was a radical labor union that wanted to overthrow capitalism. They fought through strikes, boycotts, and direct action to advocate for workers rights.

Eugene Debs

• He was a socialist leader and five time presidential candidate

• He led the Pullman strike and founded the Socialist Party of America, promoting worker’s rights

Election of 1912

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Wilson’s domestic plan

It was called New Freedom, which aimed to break up mono, lower tariffs, and reform banking.

16th Amendment

Allowed a federal income tax

17th Amendment

Allowed for a direct election of senators

Federal Reserve Act

Created the Federal Reserve to regulate banks and stabilize the economy

Clayton Antitrust Act

Strengthened Antitrust laws and protected labor unions from monopolies

Populist Party

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Why did the U.S. in the 1890s become so interested in global markets?

-They saw access to global markets as a key to power.