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Lawrence Veiller
Veiller got the State Tenement House Act passed. The law required that any new tenements be built around open courtyards to allow light and air. The buildings also had to have one bathroom per appartment. -
Democracy and Social Ethics
Jane Addams urged private citizens to show more social responsibility. She, as most progressives, remained commited to democracy. -
Ida Tarbell
In November 1902 McClure's ran the first installment of "History of the Standard Oil Company" by Ida Tarbell. She was born in Western Pennsylvania. She was very angry when John D. Rockefeller's oil company began taking over smaller businesses. -
Ella Flagg Young
Ella Flagg Young became Chicago's superintendent of schools. She was the first woman to hold this job in a major city. She promoted public education by raising teacher's salaries. -
The International Ladies' Garment Workers Union
In 1909 workers at three different New York factories walked off their jobs. They turned to the ILGWU to call a strike. -
Cleaner Cities
The First National Confrence on City Planning was held in 1909. People hoped that better city planning would bring clean cities. They also hoped this would get rid of some of the slums. Daniel Burnham was one person who helped design cities. -
The Society of American Indians
A group of 50 American Indians formed the Society of American Indians. They discussed ways to improve civil rights, education, health, and local government. -
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
500 employees, most of them young Jewish or Italian immigrant women, were finishing their six-day workweek at New York City's Triangle Shirtwaist Company. As they got up to leave a fire erupted in a rag bin. There was no way out of the building because managers were afraid that they would steal fabric so they kept the fire doors locked. 60 workers jumped out of windows to escape the flames. A total of 140 workers had died. -
IWW
In 1912 the IWW led 10,000 workers in a strike against the textile mills of Lawrence, Massachusetts, to protest large cut in wages. After two months of striking the mill owners finally gave in. This was their greatest hour. -
The Eighteenth Amendment
Congress proposed the Eighteenth Amendment. This barred the manufacure, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages. It was ratified in 1919.
