1.Immigrants faced harsh conditions when moving to American cities, yet the conditions for many were superior to those of what they were used to. Cities provided immigrants with wages, something many immigrants had not been given before. However, the huge amounts of immigrants required cheap housing near the jobs. This would lead to the creation of tenements, which were building stacked 5-6 stories high which took in approximately 20 families. These tenements were often ridden with disease and unhygienic conditions as well as cramped space. Progressive reformers attempted to solve these problems by first attempting to lure citizens to become tenement investors and then attempted to create house law, such as New York’s Tenement House Law of 1901 which had no effect on tenement conditions. Progressive reformers then targeted the poor people as well as poor health conditions. News reporters attempted to expose corrupt political officials of the political machines. Journalists such as Jacob Riis took photographs of tenement conditions and published them in his book “How the Other Half Lives. Reformers also targeted public health and tried to make cities more beautiful to live in. They started the “City Beautiful” movement which advocated better urban spaces, such as places with tennis courts and ice rinks. Lastly, progressive reformers created settlement homes for the urban poor. These people were generally those immigrants who struggled to find job or were paid extremely low wages. The social workers at these settlements tended to fight with city hall on topics of worker’s safety, better schooling, other areas of possible improvement in the city. In order to combat political machines such as Tammany Hall, reformers attracted citizens to vote for them by promising food, a reduction of crime, affordable housing, and gas and electricity, all amenities which enticed a multitude of classes. Overall, progressive reformers improved problems faced by immigrants and by the corruption of political machines by creating institutions and used newspaper and other such form of communication to alert the public of the poor conditions of the city as well as the corruption of the political machines. Key Terms:progressivism, “City Beautiful” Movement, social settlement, Hull House Hull House was a social settlement founded by Jane Addams, with the purpose of providing basic services to the urban poor. Hull House was an example of how the progressive reformers attempted to solve the problems immigrants faced as it was located in an area which was predominantly composed of Italian and Eastern European immigrants. Hull House social workers attempted to fix and improve health in tenements, a housing unit which was usually composed of several immigrant families who needed cheap housing near their job. 2. Although American cities did have a divided social structure, opportunities for others to move up the social ladder were apparent. We can clearly see that cities did have an elite class, as those were the people who held influential positions in the large companies that developed due to industrialization. This was exemplified by the introduction of skyscrapers which were used by large corporations. The middle class were those who worked under these large corporations and would live in the bungalows and small houses in the city. This was quite different to the elite’s homes which resided on large landscaped lots.The most elite neighborhoods would have the newest electric lights and best trolley lines. The working class and the poor can be reflected by the tenements and settlement homes that were created. The working class would have to live in tenements as a way to live cheaply and close to their job(sometimes in ethnic cultures). The absolute poor would go to social settlements (along with the poorer working class) in
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The elite, as well as some of the middle class had access to the electric trolley system and could afford more expensive, private housing. Unfortunately, for many of the immigrants who moved to the United States, money was not a premium and they had to find cheap housing near their low paying jobs. They were forced to cramp in tenements,which had horrid conditions and terrible diseases. The difference between their living condition and that of the elite truly portrayed a divided social
The elite, as well as some of the middle class had access to the electric trolley system and could afford more expensive, private housing. Unfortunately, for many of the immigrants who moved to the United States, money was not a premium and they had to find cheap housing near their low paying jobs. They were forced to cramp in tenements,which had horrid conditions and terrible diseases. The difference between their living condition and that of the elite truly portrayed a divided social