Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Factory Fires in the Progressive Era
I researched factory fires in Alabama between 1880 and 1925. This search had 19645 matches and peaked in the 1890s. I found in the Coosa River News from July 31, 1896 an article titled "Wonderful things are near". The article focused on advancements in electricity during this time period. It talked about horseless carriages, electricity and light in every home, electricity becoming as cheap as water, and factories using electricity to power machines making the air much cleaner and get rid of factory fires The article predicted that all of this could happen by the 1920s. I also found that this prediction was not very accurate because on July 23, 1919 the Decatur Daily published an article about a recent factory fire caused by a lit cigarette that killed 50 people and injured more. The amount of matches for the search did decline as the timeline got closer to the 1920s so improvements must have been made but factory fires had not completely gone away.
Coosa River News
The Decaturs Daily
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Ballot Initiatives
The ballot initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can bring about a public vote on a proposed statute or constitutional amendment.
- 24 states allow ballot initiatives
- a direct initiative goes straight to popular vote
- an indirect initiative goes to legislature then to popular vote
- California passed 12/17 in 2016
- including raising the minimum wage and tobacco taxes
- California was able to get more funding for schools
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Progressive Era
1. Progress making improvements to achieve a goal.
2. The progressive era was 1890-1920 this time is associated with urbanization and business expansion
3. Progressive reforms often have to do with restoring democracy
4. An essential goal of the progressive era was improving quality of life by reducing the harsh conditions caused by industrialization. A good but not completely necessary goal was making work more efficient and reducing work hours. A strange goal was fixing the uneven distribution of wealth between big businesses. A goal that was not a good idea was improving the life style of the poor by changing their life style in ways like banning alcohol.
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Predictions of the Future 100 Years Ago
John Elfreth Watkins Jr predictions:
1. There Will Be No Street Cars in Our Large Cities. All hurry traffic will be below or high above ground when brought within city limits. In most cities it will be confined to broad subways or tunnels, well lighted and well ventilated, or to high trestles with “moving-sidewalk” stairways leading to the top. These underground or overhead streets will teem with capacious automobile passenger coaches and freight with cushioned wheels. Subways or trestles will be reserved for express trains. Cities, therefore, will be free from all noises.
2. Gymnastics will begin in the nursery, where toys and games will be designed to strengthen the muscles. Exercise will be compulsory in the schools. Every school, college and community will have a complete gymnasium. All cities will have public gymnasiums. A man or woman unable to walk ten miles at a stretch will be regarded as a weakling
3. There will be air-ships, but they will not successfully compete with surface cars and water vessels for passenger or freight traffic. They will be maintained as deadly war-vessels by all military nations. Some will transport men and goods. Others will be used by scientists making observations at great heights above the earth.
4. Peas as Large as Beets. Peas and beans will be as large as beets are to-day. Sugar cane will produce twice as much sugar as the sugar beet now does. Cane will once more be the chief source of our sugar supply. The milkweed will have been developed into a rubber plant. Cheap native rubber will be harvested by machinery all over this country. Plants will be made proof against disease microbes just as readily as man is to-day against smallpox. The soil will be kept enriched by plants which take their nutrition from the air and give fertility to the earth.
5. There will be no wild animals except in menageries. Rats and mice will have been exterminated. The horse will have become practically extinct. A few of high breed will be kept by the rich for racing, hunting and exercise. The automobile will have driven out the horse. Cattle and sheep will have no horns. They will be unable to run faster than the fattened hog of today. A century ago the wild hog could outrun a horse. Food animals will be bred to expend practically all of their life energy in producing meat, milk, wool and other by-products. Horns, bones, muscles and lungs will have been neglected.
The prediction of exercise being mandatory in schools was accurate, but people that can not walk ten miles are not regarded as weaklings due to obesity rates rising. Therefore the prediction of a healthier more fit America was more of a dream of an ideal future rather than an actual prediction. While subways are a common use of transportation in big cities street cars are still used. The prediction of vegetables becoming larger was accurate we still have not found a way for plants to live off of air and enrich the soil. Most of these predictions predict a better future with larger food supplies, healthier people, and cleaner more efficient cities.
I predict that in the future it will become increasingly harder to find jobs, due to a growing population cities will continue to become more crowded, and low paying jobs will require a higher level of education.
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| http://theashleylawfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/new-york-subway-system.jpg |
Urbanization and Organized Crime
During the late 19th and early 20th century people in America were moving from small towns and rural areas to large cities. These cities grew rapidly due to large amounts of immigration, and this created poor living conditions and crowded spaces. Crime became a way for immigrants to make money and they quickly formed large organizations. Without a developed police force and corrupt politicians gangs during this time were able to grow in size and power rapidly. The rapid urbanization in America lead to the development of organized crime which in return had a significant impact on urban life.
Organized crime was not created during this time period but did change drastically. Prior to 1870 smaller gangs such as the Whyos. The Whyos were mostly made up of petty thieves and would commit crimes such as punching someone for two dollars, breaking a bone for ten dollars, or even killing someone for one hundred dollars. The whyos finally dissolved around 1890. During the late 19th century large waves of immigrants were moving to the cities and creating gangs. These gangs were much more organized and were able to absorb the smaller gangs that had existed previously. NationalGangCenter.gov compared the development of gangs during this time period to the progress of commerce. Changing from individual stores to large stores with many different items available. Gangs such as the five points gang and the Monk Eastman Gang from New York quickly became powerful and were involved in counterfeiting, drug trade, prostitution, and racketeering. Antonio Vaccerelli "Paul Kelly" was the leader of the five points gang, Kelly grew his gang by creating youth groups as a front for getting kids involved with the gang. Monk Eastman leader of the Jewish gang in New York trained kids as pick pockets at the age of 10. These gangs were very organized and able to commit crimes on a much larger scale.
The Gangs also affected the politics and social landscape of cities. Both Eastman and Kelly wanted protection from the law in New York, so they began working with the corrupt politicians in Tammany Hall including Boss Tweed. With Backing from both of the largest gangs in New York the Tammany Hall political machine was very powerful. The gangs would have members at the polls to intimidate people into voting a certain way, they would also stuff the ballot boxes with fake votes. According to Historical Crimes by Wallace Edwards it was not uncommon for there to be three times the number of votes in the five points district than there were registered voters. In return the gangs were able to commit crimes without prosecution. Paul Kelly was arrested and should have gotten twenty years in prison but by the time of the trial his case had been manipulated so greatly that he only got 9 months. While sentencing Kelly recorder Goff said " You should have been convicted of highway robbery. Instead you were only convicted of assault." This partnership between the gangs and politicians helped shape city politics and urban life during this time period.
The way people viewed certain groups of immigrants was shaped by gang violence during this time period. In Los Angeles the Chinese immigrants had created gangs of their own called tongs. The Hip Sing tong and the On Leong tong were the most powerful tongs at the time. They would often fight for control over opium dens and brothels. The Hip Sing Tong had paid off most of the police force and the On Leong tong had political ties because they had rigged election of the district attorney. In 1900 a shootout started between the gangs in a tenement a woman and two children were injured, the police wrote this off as a gambling dispute and the woman and children were just collateral damage. The LA Herald, a Los Angeles newspaper, posted on July 19 1907 that seven men had recieved threats stating that tong wars were imminent, the newspaper claimed that the gangs had brought in the dreaded "Hatchet Men" and it said that any Chinese person found bearing arms could be arrested. The Chinese gang violence furthered the anti Chinese sentiment that already existed in this time period.
The rapid growth of cities between 1870 and 1915 lead to the development of large organized crime groups which eventually impacted city politics and the way people viewed immigrants. The large organized gangs created during this time period are similar to gangs in America today. The impact of gangs on cities during this time period helped shape urban life into what it is today.
Sources:
Organized crime was not created during this time period but did change drastically. Prior to 1870 smaller gangs such as the Whyos. The Whyos were mostly made up of petty thieves and would commit crimes such as punching someone for two dollars, breaking a bone for ten dollars, or even killing someone for one hundred dollars. The whyos finally dissolved around 1890. During the late 19th century large waves of immigrants were moving to the cities and creating gangs. These gangs were much more organized and were able to absorb the smaller gangs that had existed previously. NationalGangCenter.gov compared the development of gangs during this time period to the progress of commerce. Changing from individual stores to large stores with many different items available. Gangs such as the five points gang and the Monk Eastman Gang from New York quickly became powerful and were involved in counterfeiting, drug trade, prostitution, and racketeering. Antonio Vaccerelli "Paul Kelly" was the leader of the five points gang, Kelly grew his gang by creating youth groups as a front for getting kids involved with the gang. Monk Eastman leader of the Jewish gang in New York trained kids as pick pockets at the age of 10. These gangs were very organized and able to commit crimes on a much larger scale.
The Gangs also affected the politics and social landscape of cities. Both Eastman and Kelly wanted protection from the law in New York, so they began working with the corrupt politicians in Tammany Hall including Boss Tweed. With Backing from both of the largest gangs in New York the Tammany Hall political machine was very powerful. The gangs would have members at the polls to intimidate people into voting a certain way, they would also stuff the ballot boxes with fake votes. According to Historical Crimes by Wallace Edwards it was not uncommon for there to be three times the number of votes in the five points district than there were registered voters. In return the gangs were able to commit crimes without prosecution. Paul Kelly was arrested and should have gotten twenty years in prison but by the time of the trial his case had been manipulated so greatly that he only got 9 months. While sentencing Kelly recorder Goff said " You should have been convicted of highway robbery. Instead you were only convicted of assault." This partnership between the gangs and politicians helped shape city politics and urban life during this time period.
The way people viewed certain groups of immigrants was shaped by gang violence during this time period. In Los Angeles the Chinese immigrants had created gangs of their own called tongs. The Hip Sing tong and the On Leong tong were the most powerful tongs at the time. They would often fight for control over opium dens and brothels. The Hip Sing Tong had paid off most of the police force and the On Leong tong had political ties because they had rigged election of the district attorney. In 1900 a shootout started between the gangs in a tenement a woman and two children were injured, the police wrote this off as a gambling dispute and the woman and children were just collateral damage. The LA Herald, a Los Angeles newspaper, posted on July 19 1907 that seven men had recieved threats stating that tong wars were imminent, the newspaper claimed that the gangs had brought in the dreaded "Hatchet Men" and it said that any Chinese person found bearing arms could be arrested. The Chinese gang violence furthered the anti Chinese sentiment that already existed in this time period.
The rapid growth of cities between 1870 and 1915 lead to the development of large organized crime groups which eventually impacted city politics and the way people viewed immigrants. The large organized gangs created during this time period are similar to gangs in America today. The impact of gangs on cities during this time period helped shape urban life into what it is today.
Sources:
Information on political impact
Information on development of gangs
information on chinese gangs
information on monk eastman gang and paul kelly
Background information on urban life
Primary source on tong wars (July 19, 1907) |
Paul Kelly  |
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| tenement housing |
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| Monk Eastman |
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