The Middle Class Reform Impulse
As Americans viewed the poverty throughout their cities, middle class Americans strove to enact reform measures that would aid their society. Groups were formed to aid the less fortunate Americans who inhabited the slums of the cities. Although these citizens strove to aid their fellow man, in many cases, there was a prevalent feeling of condecension towards the poorer classes.
Jane Addams, Hull House: She was a social worker and a Nobel laureate. With the help of Ellen Star, she created the Hull House in 1889 in Chicago, which was the first settlement house in the U.S. It was a welfare agency for needy families, and it also served to combat juvenile delinquency and to assist the recent immigrants in learning the English language and in becoming citizens. In addition, in 1912, Addams played a large role in the formation of the National Progressive Party and the Women’s Peace Party.
Lester Frank Ward: Ward worked with the U.S. Geological Survey. He argued against William Graham Sumner in his Dynamic Sociology and stated that the laws of nature could be changed by mankind through government experts regulating big business, protecting society’s weaker classes, and preventing the destruction of natural resources.
Social Gospel: It was a Protestant liberal movement led by Washington Gladden and Walter Rauschenbusch that applied Christian principles to the numerous social problems that affected the late 19th century United States as a result of industrialization. The movement preached and taught religion and human dignity to the working class in order to correct the effects of capitalism. In 1908 the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America adopted a social creed that called for many improvements in society.
Walter Rauschenbusch: He was a clergyman who was one of the leaders of the Social Gospel movement. He sought to solve social problems caused by the industrialized society by applying Christian principles. He also helped found the Society of Jesus to publish periodicals for the working class.
Washington Gladden: He was a Congregationalist minister who became known for his pragmatic social theology. He linked theological liberalism with strong social concern. He worked with Walter Rauschenbusch as a leader of the Social Gospel movement. In addition, he wrote 38 books, which include Working People and their Employers.
Anti-Saloon League: During and after the American Civil War, the laws regulating many aspects of saloons were either reduced or eliminated. As a result, many people united in this league in the fight against saloons. By 1916 they enacted anti-saloon laws in 23 states and in 1917 they passed the 18th amendment beginning prohibition.
Salvation Army: Founded by Methodist William Booth, it is a religious and charitable organization dedicated to spreading the Christian faith and giving assistance to those in need of both spiritual and material aid. It was founded in 1865 in England as the Christian Mission, whose goal was to give aid to the London slums.
YMCA: British Sir George Williams founded this organization in response to unsanitary social conditions in large cities at the end of the Industrial Revolution, and to stop the young workers from gambling and engaging in other disreputable. In the U.S., it began constructing gyms, libraries, and summer camps.
Rev. Josiah Strong: Strong was the secretary of the American Home Missionary Society and the minister of Cincinnati's Central Congregational Church. Afraid that poverty was escalating, he wrote his book Our Country; Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis in 1885, where he stated that cities were centers of anarchy and destruction.
Social Darwinism: It is a theory developed in the late 19th century by which individuals and societies believed that people, like all other organisms compete for survival and success in life. It was believed that human progress depended highly on competition. Those who were best fit for survival would become rich and powerful, and the less fit in society would be poor and the lower classes. Many felt that this theory was expounded by Charles Darwin, but in reality, they misinterpreted his words.
Herbert Spencer: Spencer was a British philosopher, who was regarded as one of the first sociologists. His works include Social Statics, Principles of Psychology, and A System of Synthetic Philosophy. He created a system of philosophy that included his own theory of evolution, but also incorporated all existing fields of knowledge.
William Graham Sumner, What Social Classes Owe Each Other: Sumner was a sociologist and author of What Social Classes Owe Each Other. In this book, he stated that unchangeable laws of nature, such as survival of the fittest, control all social order and they can not be changed by man.
Henry Ward Beecher: Beecher was the pastor of the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims in Brooklyn, New York, who was also one of the earliest and best known abolitionists. Also, he was an effective champion of women's rights and suffrage. He was also editor in chief of the religious and political periodicals Independent and The Christian Union.
Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward, 2000-1887: He was an essayist and journalist who founded the Springfield Daily News, and then turned toward literature. He published his most famous work in 1888, which was entitled Looking Backward, 2000-1887. This novel was a depiction of an ideal society in the year 2000. This novel led to the formation of many socialistic clubs. To further publicize his views, Bellamy created the journal, New Nation, in 1891.
Henry George, Progress and Poverty: George was an economist and social philosopher. In his book Progress and Poverty, he stated that land ownership is concentrated in the hands of a few, and these people reap the benefits of the rise in value of the land. He recommended a shift to what he called a single tax.
The Single Tax: Developed by social philosopher and economist Henry George, it was a doctrine of social reform where all taxation should be reduced to a single tax on land. The doctrine was described in his book Progress and Poverty, and it was influenced by 17th century philosopher John Locke and British economist David Ricardo.
