Urban Reform Movement

Political Activism for Legislative Change

Women having the right to vote was seen as an avenue for women to enact social change through participation in legislation. Women had a unique point of view which enabled them to see how legislative changes could impact their quality of life. The push for women’s suffrage briefly partnered with the temperance movement. This partnership would be short due to the staunch enemies the temperance movement had gained. The combination of the two issues allowed for women’s suffrage to be curtailed by the powerful enemies of the temperance movement.

Moral Efforts of Urban Reform

1. Abolition: Until the enslavement of people was abolished on a federal level, abolition was a major goal of the urban reform movement. Slavery was seen as a humanitarian crisis which allowed for the abysmal treatment of human beings based upon racism and bigotry. While the idea of total equality was far in the future, the abolition of slavery was accomplished in 1865 accompanying the conclusion of the Civil War.

2. Temperance:

   Part of the moral reform efforts of the urban reform movement in the 19th and 20th century. Alcohol was seen as an evil influence which was responsible for a large portion of societal ills. Including dangers like domestic abuse, family abandonment and child abuse or neglect. The abuse of alcohol was a leading issue among the urban poor as it was a cheap method of escapism. Alcohol was also associated with criminal activity, and citizens of high moral standing would avoid these associations.

   
   

3. Anti-Prostitution: Urban reformers used a variety of criminal codes to combat prostitution in urban centers. Through laws concerning vagrancy, disorderly house and public nuisance, prostitutes were pushed out of their previous lodgings as well as their previous use of the public streets to peddle their services.

Prison and Asylum Reform

In addition to reformers' moral concerns, there were also practical considerations regarding the infrastructure of institutions of incarceration. Until the late 19th century, a purely punitive prison model had been in place.

The disciplinary approach was seen as cruel and unproductive by urban reformers. Therefore, they endeavored to institute a more humane, effective solution to criminal reform, one that equipped prisoners for success in the outside world after release.

One central issue was to establish separate detention centers for children and adults, as until this time both had been imprisoned in the same centers unless the juvenile offenders could be released to their parents. This practice was believed to expose juvenile offenders to hardened criminals which only perpetuated their criminal behaviors. Juveniles are especially susceptible to influence from adults and could be recruited into criminal enterprises while in prison. If juveniles who were incarcerated did not have access to education or even libraries the opportunities outside of prison were almost non-existent.

The combination of the mentally ill and those serving criminal sentences was also a leading issue for the movement. Each group was punished using the same methods, physical beatings, starvation, and a severe lack of sanitary conditions.

Fig. 1- Dorothea Dix painted by Samuel Waugh in 1868

Food Quality and Sanitation

• Food sanitation was a known issue to lower class families and in 1906 Upton Sinclair published The Jungle which detailed the unsafe practices of meat packing plants. The outrage from these details forced legislation into place to protect the population from foodborne illnesses and diseases. The Federal Meat Inspection Act was the first federal effort to supervise and regulate the food industry.
• Not only sanitary conditions were an issue, but food adulteration was also a problem. In 1905 the Food Commissioner of North Dakota, E.F. Ladd, published his findings, stating in products labeled “potted chicken” or “potted turkey” poultry was not present. Food mislabeling and adulteration was not regulated until the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906.
• Weights and measures were an important part of food and drug regulation. If a product misrepresented the contents specified by weight the authorities can measure how far the product deviates from the label or how adulterated the product may be.
• The above formed the foundation for the first consumer protection agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The act prohibited the sale of adulterated and misbranded food or drugs in interstate commerce.

Fig: 3: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Urban Reform Movement: Progressive Era

Urban Reform during the progressive era consisted of efforts to improve the living conditions for the new multitudes of urban poor. Progressives viewed industry heads and professional politicians as responsible for the squalid living conditions of the urban poor. This effort to protect free democracy from the influence of industry leaders was intended to ensure all United States citizens had equal opportunity.

Urban Reform Movement: Accomplishments

Urban reform resulted in abolition, temperance and prison reform as well as new avenues of providing services within communities. These positive changes laid the foundation for federal oversight with the goal of protecting citizens. Until this point in American history the federal government had not had a role in the oversight of food products. The resulting health crisis due to food adulteration impacted a large portion of society. The efforts of Upton Sinclair showed Americans that change can be brought by public outcry and not solely through government-initiated efforts.

Urban Reform Movement: Consequences

The consequences of Urban Reform consisted of the rigid establishment of class and the specific idea of who should succeed. Also, the desire to install “better people” into government. This is problematic because the protestant reformation idea of what a “better person” would be is confined to what meets their specific idea of morality. The Urban Reform movement excluded immigrants, as these individuals were not viewed as equal to those who were born United States citizens. Overall, the Urban Reform movement suffered from limitations due to the specific idea of morality, but individuals did accomplish specific goals.

Fig. 4: Hester Street, New York City

Looking back at the goals and results of urban reformers, one major factor split the opinion of individuals during this time period. Their efforts improved some areas of urban life, but they were limited by religious or moral motivations. The intention was to improve living and working conditions but perhaps suffered from tunnel vision in failing to consider that urban reform in general was also a secular problem.