Today, we started the hour by listening to Manic Monday. The name says it all...... Now we are gonna continue our project chapter 7 started. We'll start with Dena about Urban Problems.
Ch. 7.2
Why did cities grow so quickly in the late 1800's and early 1900's?
What problems did cities fact due to the rapid increase in population?
What did some people do to try to help the bad situation in the cities?
All working families either got houses outside of towns, or in towns in crammed boarding room houses.
Garbage wasn't picked up frequently so people starting throwing the trash in airshafts causing vermin problems. And to keep out the stench they nailed their windows shut.
Transportation - mass transit: transportation systems designed to move larger numbers of people along fixed routes. Electric subways and street cars came about.
Water - Cities in the 1800's had problems with water. It wasn't safe to drink. Filterations came about in 1870 and chloration in 1908. Many city dwellers still had to access to clean water. Disease and typhoid fever spreaded like wildfire with the bad water.
Sanitation - As cities became larger it was hard to keep them clean. Horse manure piled on the street, sewage flowed through open gutters, and factories produced bad smoke in the air.
Fire - The limited water supply led to random fires. The use of candles and kerosine heaters also led to a fire hazard. Cities like San Fransico had fire break outs during earthquakes.
Great Chicago Fire - Burned for 24 hours. Estimated 300 dead. Over 3 square miles of the city center destroyed.
San Fransico Earthquake - Last 28 seconds, but the fire last 4 days. Estimated 1,000 dead. Over 200,000 homeless. Fire swept through 5 square miles of the city.
Crime - Crime increased as the size of cities did. Pickpockets and thieves flourished. New York city organized the first full time and salaried police force in 1844.
Reformers Mobilize.
First American Settlement house was The Neighborhood Guild. Stanton Coit Started it in 1886. It was aimed to help more.
Hull House - Jane Adams found it in 1889 with her friend Ellen Starr.
Females were basically the ones who ran the houses.
First major effort to help the poor people have a say. People started the Social Gospel movement. They preached about it to the poor. More people responded to it than what they thought. This started the social act movement.
Ch. 7.3
What was the political machine and what did they do for a city?
Tell me about Boss Tweed and the Tweed Ring.
What caused all this corruption in government?
What laws came about to reform government?
Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland and William Mckinley were all presidents during the late 1800's. Were they a reform president or a status quo president?
Politics in the Gilded Age.
Political Machine - Organized group that controlled activities of a political party in a city. Organized like a pyramid.
Tammany Hall - Famous Political Machine, not really a machine, it's a building. Found in New York, People would organize different events and write letters in this building. The pyramid was a regular triangle. The base was local workers and captains. The top was the city boss, controlled activities of political parties. Bosses were in the middle,. It was three groups seperated by power and immportance.
Political boss - Controlled access to municipal jobs and business licenses and influenced courts. Bosses could provide government support for new businessess. Often paid extremely well. They solved problems and gained support.
Immigrants and the Machine - Many bosses were first or second generation immigrants. Few knew grammar.
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