7-2+USH

Abby Regan 1/13/12 USHCP Mr. Masterson

Key Terms: Skyscrapers: Large, multistory buildings. Mass Transit: Public transportation systems. Suburbs: Residential neighborhoods on the outskirts of a city. Nouveau Riche: A french term meaning "Newly rich", which was naming the new class of "wealthy city dwellers". Conspicuous Consumption: Spending money to show off one's wealth. Tenements: Poorly built apartment buildings for poor people. Settlement Houses: Community service centers. Social Gospel: This stated that people should use Christian values to address social problems.

Key People: Elisha Otis: Invented the mechanized elevator. Jane Addams: The leader of the American settle house movement. Janie Porter Barrett: Founded the Locust Street Social Settlement for African Americans. Caroline Bartlett: The organizer of the People's Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Summary:

The Changing City
 * Before the Second Industrial Revolution, cities were pretty small, but after, new technological inventions and innovations and more people coming to the USA resulted in the changing of urban society.
 * Because of the invention of the elevator, architects could easily build tall buildings without having to worry about how many stairs people could comfortably climb.
 * Architects used steel frames to support the building, and now less space was devoted to supporting the building and there was room for other things.
 * The development of mass transit made cities grow.
 * Before mass transit, most cities only covered about three square miles, but now that people no longer had to walk everywhere, cities covered up to 20 square miles.
 * Commuter railroads allowed people to live just outside the city and still access what they needed.

Upper Class Life
 * The social habits of society were changing, and wealthy were now richer than ever before.

Conspicuous Consumption
 * The rich often bragged about their wealth by spending their money.
 * The rich had extravagant houses and even better summer country houses which imitated gothic castles or Italian Renaissance palaces.
 * The ways of the wealthy were often criticized, as they didn't care about anyone but themselves.

Imitating British Victorian Culture
 * Many rich people lived by the strict standards of social behavior and etiquette of the British Victorian Culture.
 * The way that the members of America's upper class behaved held up an ideal for domestic life.

Middle Class Life
 * The growth of industries also caused the number of middle class citizens, as they worked under large business owners.

Professionalization
 * New industries demanded that their workers be educated, unlike the time before the later 1800s.
 * Professional schools and organizations were created to set standards, issue licenses, and review practices within specialized practices.

Middle Class Women
 * Even though there was a high demand for middle class workers, few women could actually find a professional job, but some did.
 * Most middle class women did work around the house, but it was made easier by innovations such as running water.

How The Poor Lived
 * Most people lived off low wages and had to rent out parts of their homes!
 * The poor lived in tenements, usually near the factories where they worked, and the conditions weren't good.
 * African Americans often faced worse conditions, where they had very low wages, high rent prices, and faced frequent police harassment.

The Drive for Reform
 * The government didi little to help the poor, but a group of people were certain that more could be and had to be done.

The Settlement Houses
 * Settlement houses were established to help the poor get education, skills training, and cultural events.
 * Jane Addams was born into a wealthy family, and after a back problem ended her medical studies, she set out to help the poor.
 * Addams began he work in 1889, and her and Ellen Gates Starr made the Hull house.
 * Her goal was to provide cultural and social services for needy Americans, and improve their living conditions.
 * She also hoped that the Hull House would provide job opportunities for young women as volunteers.
 * The volunteers were usually young, college educated women who set up a day nursery.
 * Addams also promoted women's suffrage and was president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
 * Hull House was a model for others who wanted to help the poor, and many more such houses were founded.

The Social Gospel Movement
 * Protestant ministers also joined the fight to end poverty, as they felt it was their duty to confront social issues.
 * Many churches tried to act according to the Social Gospel by providing classes, counseling, job training, libraries, and other social services.