As inferior living and working conditions, along with corrupt city governments, were creating a bleak future for many U.S. cities, reformist leaders emerged to fight for the rights of the urban masses. Social crusaders attempted to eliminate the violent crime, prostitution, unsanitary living conditions, and unsafe work environments that were plaguing the quickly expanding cities.

During the late 1800s, activists established settlement houses to provide guidance and services to poor members of the community. The workers who maintained the settlements, typically young, educated, well-to-do women, lived in the houses and actively participated in neighborhood issues. Settlement workers taught residents how to adjust to the American way of life and tried to educate them about morals and socially acceptable behavior. Unlike many members from the middle and upper-class societies who viewed charity work as their responsibility to help the needy, settlement workers hoped to benefit personally by experiencing different ways of life and learning first-hand knowledge that could not be taught in the classroom.

Although the settlement house model originated in London, it proved effective in America as well. The most famous American example was Hull House, founded in Chicago by Jane Addams. Addams was born into a wealthy family and became one of the first generation of college-educated women. With her job possibilities limited by her social class—teaching, nursing, and volunteer work were some of the few accepted careers for female members of the higher social tiers—she used her ideas and energy to help poor immigrants.

Opened in 1889 in a neighborhood filled with Greek, Russian, and German immigrants, Hull House offered English language instruction, health and nutritional education, childcare services for working mothers, and social activities to help ease the newcomers into the American lifestyle. In 1893, the women of Hull House, led by Florence Kelley, pressed for the passage of an anti-sweatshop law that protected women and children workers. A lifelong advocate for creating better conditions for women, children, blacks, and consumers, Kelley later moved to New York and served as general secretary of the National Consumers League. For years, Addams worked tirelessly to end war and poverty, and in 1931 her efforts were recognized when she won the Nobel Peace Prize.

The second half of the nineteenth century marked an influx of crusaders fighting to improve social conditions in America. A farm girl from Massachusetts named Clara Barton spent countless hours gathering supplies and providing care for troops during the Civil War. In 1881, the “Angel of the Battlefield” secured financial support from John D. Rockefeller and founded the American Red Cross. The diminutive Barton directed the organization’s relief activities for 23 years.

Spiritual leaders played a prominent role in reforming the city’s poor. Preachers campaigned vigorously to persuade those living in slums to renounce their sinful ways. They warned that gambling, stealing, drinking, and violent behavior would keep the sinners trapped in the slums. Giving up the horrible vices, they preached, was the only way to escape the nasty, disease-filled environment. To support their dialogue, the evangelists founded school and recreational facilities in the slums to offer help and guidance to the unfortunate. These organizations eventually evolved into the American branches of the Young Men’s and Women’s Christian Associations (YMCA and YWCA).

The Salvation Army also became a formidable advocate in the fight against poverty. Members of the group dressed in military-style uniforms but carried musical instruments, not weapons. The band-playing Army became a regular attraction on street corners where poor, often unemployed, city dwellers gathered to listen to their messages of hope and to take advantage of free soup.

As more and more people joined the fight for better working and living conditions, members of Congress began to feel pressure to become involved too. Lawmakers soon passed regulations to establish standards in housing and working conditions, wages and daily work limits, and labor involving women and children. However, landlords and business leaders fought back and, through legal actions, managed to have many of the laws thrown out.

Copyright 2006 The Regents of the University of California and Monterey Institute for Technology and Education