Economic and social problems created by industrilization

U. S began to make many renovations and entered an era of prosperity known as industrialization. The economy seemed to be doing well due to the advancements brought by industrialization, but this wasn’t necessarily the case. Many economic and social issues arose, which called for immediate attention. Jane Addams attempted to resolve some of these issues by focusing on poverty,poor living conditions,low wages, and lastly Americanize immigrants. John Sinclair over,shown some light of the meat packing industry, which called for reforms.

One of the most prominent contributions that Adams made to the community was the establishment of the Hull house in 1889. Her goal was to draw attention to the moral decay that was occurring in the society and attempt to renovate it and this place would do that. When visiting Chicago she stumbled upon some of the immigrants that inhabited that industrialized area. She became aware of the fact that many of these individuals worked in factories and had very poor living conditions so giving them a place to gather outside of their dirty tenements was very inefficient.

With the establishment of the hull house she was able to set up a child care center. Many of the mothers that had to work didn’t have anyplace to leave their children to so the Hull house was like their saving grace. Jane work didn’t stop there. She also campaigned against the notorious sweatshops and pushed for a juvenile court system. Sweatshops were known for their unsanitary working conditions,overcrowding and child exploitation. She was so determined in advocating her case that in 1893 she became successful and Illinois passed a workshop and actors bill that banned minor exploitation and improved the working conditions.

The juvenile court system was an idea that Addams wanted to achieve because child immigrants that were cold and hungry often had to resort to breaking the law. They would steal coal from trucks and fruits and other food items they could get their hands on. If they were ever found guilty of these crimes they would be put in Jail with criminals that had committed severe crimes. In 1899 Cane’s idea became a reality and the Juvenile court of Chicago was inaugurated. Now if children were making minor fences they would be put in the care of a probation officer or be sent to a clean detention center.

John Sinclair like Jane Addams was also disturbed by the conditions that employees had to work under and labor injustices. Concerned about this John decided to write a book that described their substandard working conditions. His book “The Jungle,” became scandalous but not for the intended reason. The content of Sinclair book consisted of very detailed descriptions of the meat packing industry which was disgusting to say the least. This sparked major controversy and when Roosevelt heard about it the 1906 pure food and Drug act was eased.

What this act did was position meat inspectors at every processing plant and made sure that the meat was kept in sanitary conditions. The U. S department of agriculture also becomes established and the FDA administration as well. Industrialization had many beneficial aspects. However, it also became the cause of social and economic complications. Determined individuals like Jon Sinclair and Jane Addams upon viewing this decided to become involved. They were to some extent successful and were able to resolve some of the issues that were occurring in the nineteenth century.