Lesson 5: Progress and Setbacks for Social Justice

Question 1

Gentlemen’s Agreement Definition

Answer 1

a 1907 agreement between the United States and Japan to limit Japanese immigration

Question 2

Barrio Definition

Answer 2

a Mexican neighborhood in the United States

Question 3

Eighteenth Amendment Definition

Answer 3

a 1917 amendment to the United States Constitution that made it illegal to make or sell alcoholic drinks

Question 4

Lynch Definition

Answer 4

a mob illegally seizing and killing someone

Question 5

Mutualista Definition

Answer 5

a Mexican American mutual aid group

Question 6

NAACP Definition

Answer 6

(National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) an organization founded in 1909 to work toward equal rights for African Americans

Question 7

National Women Suffrage Association Definition

Answer 7

a group set up in 1869 to work for a constitutional amendment to give women the right to vote

Question 8

Nineteenth Amendment Definition

Answer 8

a 1919 amendment to the United States Constitution that gives women the right to vote

Question 9

Prohibition Definition

Answer 9

the legal ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor anywhere in the United States from 1920 to 1933

Question 10

Society of American Indians Definition

Answer 10

a group that worked for social justice and tried to push American Indians into the American mainstream

Question 11

Suffrage Definition

Answer 11

the right to vote

Question 12

Suffragist Definition

Answer 12

a person who worked for women’s right to vote

Question 13

Women’s Christian Temperance Union Definition

Answer 13

(WCTU) a group organized in 1874 that worked to ban the production and sale of liquor in the United States

Question 14

What was the start of the organized women’s rights movement?

Answer 14

The struggle of women for suffrage, or right to vote, went back many years. The Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 was the start of the organized women’s rights movement. It called for many reforms, including women’s suffrage.

Question 15

Why had Elisabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony oppose the Fifteenth Amendment? In 1869, what association did they set up?

Answer 15

After the Civil War, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony renewed calls for suffrage. They had opposed the Fifteenth Amendment because it gave the vote to African American men but not to women. In 1869, Stanton and Anthony set up the National Woman Suffrage Association, a group that worked for a constitutional amendment to give women the right to vote.

Question 16

In the late 1800s, why did Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado give women the right to vote?

Answer 16

In most states, leading politicians opposed women’s suffrage. Still, in the late 1800s, women won the right to vote in four western states: Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and Idaho. Pioneer women had worked alongside men to build farms and cities. By giving women the vote, these states recognized the women’s contributions.

Question 17

What law made Wyoming’s admission in 1890 take longer? What was their response?

Answer 17

When Wyoming applied for statehood in 1890, many members of Congress wanted it to change its law that gave women the vote. Wyoming lawmakers replied, “We may stay out of the Union for 100 years, but we will come in with our women.” Wyoming barely won admission.

Question 18

In the early 1900s, how many women were working outside the home? How did wages give them some leverage? What qualities made Carrie Chapman Catt a good successor to Stanton and Anthony and a good leader of the National Women Suffrage Association?

Answer 18

In the early 1900s, the women’s suffrage movement gained strength. More than 5 million women were earning wages outside the home. Although women were paid less than men, wages gave them some power. Many demanded a say in making the laws that affected them. After Stanton and Anthony died, a new generation of leaders took up the cause. Among the most outspoken was Carrie Chapman Catt. She had worked as a school principal and a reporter before she became a leader of the National Woman Suffrage Association. Catt was a brilliant organizer. She created a detailed plan to fight for suffrage, state by state. Across the nation, suffragists, or people who worked for women’s right to vote, followed her strategy. Gradually, their efforts succeeded. One by one, states in the West and Midwest gave women the vote. Generally, women in these states could vote only in state elections. At the same time, more and more women were demanding a constitutional amendment to give them the right to vote in all elections.

Question 19

How did suffragist Alice Paul take more radical steps in gaining suffrage?

Answer 19

As the struggle dragged on, some suffragists, such as Alice Paul, took more radical steps to win the vote. Paul had marched with British suffragists in London. She had been jailed and gone on hunger strikes to help British women win the vote. When Paul returned home, she fought for suffrage for American women.

Question 20

How did women bombard the White House for the right to vote. What was President Wilson’s view on women suffrage?

Answer 20

Soon after Wilson became President, he met with Paul and other suffragists. Wilson did not oppose women’s suffrage, but he also did not back a constitutional amendment. Paul told the President that suffragists wanted such an amendment. “And then,” she recalled, “we sent him another delegation and another and another and another and another and another and another.” Early in 1917, Rose Winslow, Paul, and other women began to picket the White House. Within a few months, police started to arrest the silent protesters. Winslow and Paul were jailed for obstructing the sidewalk. A public outcry soon won their release. The women then resumed their picketing.

Question 21

By what year had women suffrage gained the popular support? In 1919, Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment. What did it state? When was it ratified?

Answer 21

By early 1918, the tide had finally turned in favor of suffrage. President Wilson agreed to support the suffrage amendment. In 1919, Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment. It guaranteed women the right to vote. By August 1920, three fourths of the states had ratified the amendment, and it became part of the Constitution. The amendment doubled the number of eligible voters.

Question 22

What were other issues besides women suffrage, predominantly concerning occupational and academic problems? How is Myra Bradwell an example?

Answer 22

Besides working for the vote, women struggled to gain access to jobs and education. Most states refused to grant women licenses to practice law or medicine. Myra Bradwell taught herself law, just as Abraham Lincoln had done. Still, Illinois denied her a license in 1869 because she was a woman. In 1890, Illinois finally allowed her to practice law.

Question 23

What did women use clubs for at first? How did that change to reformist ideas? What did the National Association of Colored Women fight for?

Answer 23

During the late 1800s, middle-class women joined women’s clubs. At first, most club women read books and sought other ways to improve their minds. In time, many became eager reformers. They raised money for libraries, schools, and parks. They pressed for laws to protect women and children, to ensure pure food and drugs, and to win the vote. Faced with racial barriers, African American women formed their own clubs, such as the National Association of Colored Women. They battled to end racial injustice and worked for suffrage and other reforms.

Question 24

During the Progressive Era, many women became committed to reforming society. What reforms did they campaign for? What did Florence Kelly campaign for?

Answer 24

During the Progressive Era, many women became committed to reforming society. Some women entered the new profession of social work. Others campaigned to end social evils, such as child labor. Florence Kelley investigated conditions in sweatshops. In time, she was made the chief factory inspector for the state of Illinois. Kelley’s main concern, though, was child labor. She organized a boycott of goods produced by child labor. She helped publish a list of manufacturers whose factories met basic standards.

Question 25

What was the temperance movement and prohibition? When did this movement start gaining strength?

Answer 25

The temperance movement to end the sale of alcoholic beverages began in the early 1800s. Many in the movement wanted the government to enact prohibition, or a ban on the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. By 1900, the movement was gaining strength.

Question 26

Who often led the temperance movement?

Answer 26

Women often led the temperance drive. Many wives and mothers recognized alcohol as a threat to their families. Drinking often caused violence and economic hardship at home.

Question 27

What political reasons made women oppose saloons?

Answer 27

For political reasons, women also opposed saloons, where alcohol was served. In saloons, male political bosses made political decisions out of the reach of women. Most saloons refused entry to women.

Question 28

Created in 1874, what was the Women’s Christian Temperance Union? What did its president Frances Willard do?

Answer 28

In 1874, a group of women organized the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). Frances Willard became its president in 1880. Willard recalled an incident at a Pittsburgh saloon.

The tall, stately lady who led us placed her Bible on the bar and read a psalm…. Then we sang “Rock of Ages” as I thought I had never sung it before…. This was my Crusade baptism.

—Frances E. Willard, Glimpses of Fifty Years, the Autobiography of an American Woman, 1889

Willard spoke tirelessly about the evils of alcohol. She called for state laws to ban the sale of liquor. She also worked to close saloons. In time, Willard joined the suffrage movement, bringing many WCTU members along with her.

Question 29

What was Carrie Nation’s radical approach to temperance?

Answer 29

Carrie Nation was a more radical temperance crusader. She dedicated her life to fighting “demon rum.” After her husband died from heavy drinking, Nation often stormed into saloons. Swinging a hatchet, she smashed beer kegs and liquor bottles. Nation won publicity, but her actions embarrassed the WCTU.

Question 30

In 1917, how did the occurrence of World War I help gain support for the temperance movement?

Answer 30

Temperance crusaders wanted a constitutional amendment banning the production and sale of liquor. Support for such an amendment grew after 1917, when the United States entered World War I. Temperance supporters argued that grain used to make liquor should be used instead to feed American soldiers.

Question 31

When was the Eighteenth amendment passed and ratified? What did it state?

Answer 31

Temperance leaders finally persuaded Congress to pass the Eighteenth Amendment in 1917. By 1919, three fourths of the states had ratified it. The amendment made it illegal to sell alcoholic drinks anywhere in the United States.

Question 32

After Reconstruction, how were African Americans discriminated against in both the North and South?

Answer 32

After Reconstruction, African Americans in the South lost many hard-won rights. Jim Crow laws led to segregation in schools, trains, and other public places. In the North, too, African Americans faced prejudice and discrimination. Landlords refused to rent homes in white areas to African Americans. Across the nation, African Americans were hired only for low-paying jobs.

Question 33

How did the depression of 1893 make life harder on African Americans?

Answer 33

The depression of 1893 made life even harder. In the South and elsewhere, jobless whites took out their anger on blacks. In the 1890s, more than 1,000 African Americans were lynched—murdered by mobs.

Question 34

How did Ida B. Wells contribute to the fight against African American discrimination?

Answer 34

The murders outraged Ida B. Wells, an African American journalist. In her newspaper, Free Speech, Wells urged African Americans to protest the lynchings. She called for a boycott of streetcars and white-owned stores. Wells spoke out despite threats to her life.

Question 35

What were the contributions of Booker T. Washington in the fight against African American discrimination?

Answer 35

During this period, Booker T. Washington spoke for many African Americans. He called on blacks and whites to live in harmony. In Up From Slavery, his autobiography, Washington told his own success story. Although born into slavery, he had taught himself to read. As a youth, he worked in coal mines, attending schools whenever he could. In 1872, he graduated from the newly founded Hampton Institute. Nine years later, he helped found the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama to offer higher education to blacks. African Americans, said Washington, must work patiently to move up in society. First, he urged them to learn trades and earn money. Then, they would have the power to demand equality. Business tycoons like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller backed Washington. They helped him build trade schools for African Americans. Presidents also sought his advice on racial issues.

Question 36

How did W.E.B. Du Bois contribute to the fight against African American discrimination? How did his ideals differ from Booker T. Washington’s? Created in 1909, what was the NAACP.

Answer 36

Other African Americans, like W.E.B. Du Bois (doo BOYSS), took a different approach. Du Bois agreed with Booker T. Washington’s view on the need for “thrift, patience, and industrial training.” However, he added, “So far as Mr. Washington apologizes for injustice, … we must firmly oppose him.” Instead of patiently accepting discrimination, Du Bois urged blacks to fight it actively. In 1909, Du Bois, along with Jane Addams, Lincoln Steffens, and other reformers, organized the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP. Blacks and whites in the NAACP worked for equal rights for African Americans.

Question 37

Why did Progressives give little though to the problems faced by African Americans? How are Teddy Roosevelt and President Wilson examples?

Answer 37

Most Progressives, though, gave little thought to the problems faced by African Americans. When black soldiers were accused of rioting in Brownsville, Texas, Teddy Roosevelt had their whole regiment dishonorably discharged. Later, President Wilson ordered the segregation of black and white government workers. When blacks protested, Wilson replied that “segregation is not humiliating, but a benefit.”

Question 38

What were the successes of George Washington Carver and Sarah Walker, better known as Madame C.J. Walker?

Answer 38

Despite many obstacles, some African Americans succeeded. George Washington Carver discovered hundreds of new uses for peanuts and other crops grown in the South. His writings about crop rotation changed southern farming practices. Sarah Walker, better known as Madame C. J. Walker, created a line of hair care products for African American women. She became the first American woman to earn more than $1 million.

Question 39

What was the influence of Black-owned insurance companies, banks, and other businesses on African Americans?

Answer 39

Black-owned insurance companies, banks, and other businesses served the needs of African Americans. Other businesses provided personal services that whites refused to offer African Americans. Among these were restaurants, beauty parlors and barber shops, and funeral parlors. Black colleges trained young people for the professions. Churches like the African Methodist Episcopal Church were training grounds for African American leaders.

Question 40

Where did Americans of Spanish and Mexican descent predominantly live? What happened in the early 1900s?

Answer 40

Thousands of Americans of Mexican or Spanish descent lived in the United States, especially in the Southwest and West. They lived in areas acquired by the United States from Mexico under the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo and the Gadsden Purchase. In the early 1900s, however, large numbers of immigrants began arriving from Mexico.

Question 41

Why did many Mexicanos immigrate to America in 1910?

Answer 41

In 1910, revolution and famine swept Mexico. Thousands of Mexicanos, or native-born Mexicans, fled their homeland into the United States. To them, it was el norte “the north.” The immigrants came from all levels of Mexican society. Many were poor farmers, but some came from middle-class and upper-class families. Although many Mexicanos later returned home, some remained.

Question 42

How was life like in the United States for Mexicans?

Answer 42

Mexican immigrants worked as field hands, built roads, and dug irrigation ditches. Some lived near the railroads they helped build. Still others worked in city factories, where they faced harsh conditions. They were paid less than white workers and were denied skilled jobs. Like other immigrants, Mexicans created their own neighborhoods, or barrios. There, they preserved their language and culture, celebrated traditional festivals, and shared memories of Mexico. Los Angeles became home to the nation’s largest barrio. Its population almost tripled between 1910 and 1920. Meanwhile, Mexican Americans moved to new parts of the United States. Seeking jobs, many moved to the Midwest and the Rocky Mountain region.

Question 43

Within barrios, why were mutualistas formed? What were mutualistas?

Answer 43

Within the barrio, Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans took many steps to help each other. Some formed mutualistas, or mutual aid groups. These groups worked like other immigrant aid societies. Members of mutualistas pooled money to buy insurance and pay for legal advice. They also collected money for the sick and needy.

Question 44

How did the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 effect the Chinese population in America?

Answer 44

In the 1870s, whites on the West Coast pressed Congress to pass the Chinese Exclusion Act. The Act, passed in 1882, kept Chinese from settling in the United States. With no new immigration, the Chinese population declined.

Question 45

Due to the demand of cheap labor, how did employers get around the Chinese Exclusion Act?

Answer 45

Still, the demand for cheap labor remained high. White employers on the West Coast and in Hawaii therefore got around the Chinese Exclusion Act by hiring workers from other Asian countries, mainly the Philippines and Japan. More than 100,000 Japanese entered the United States in the early 1900s. Most had migrated to Hawaii to work on sugar plantations. When the United States annexed Hawaii in 1898, a number of Japanese saw the opportunity for a better life on the United States mainland.

Question 46

Where did most Japanese farmers settle? What did they do on this land that ended up being very profitable?

Answer 46

Many newcomers from Japan were farmers. They settled on dry, barren land that Americans thought was useless. Through hard work and careful management of resources, the Japanese made their farms profitable. Soon, they were producing a large percentage of southern California’s fruits and vegetables. Other newcomers worked in canneries, lumber mills, and mines.

Question 47

Why did Hawaiian planters hire workers from various Asian countries?

Answer 47

Hawaiian planters brought workers from Japan, Korea, and the Philippines. They deliberately hired workers from diverse groups. They hoped this would keep workers from uniting to demand better wages or improved working conditions. Like Mexican immigrants, Asian workers were paid less than whites and were denied promotion to skilled jobs.

Question 48

How did prejudice against Asian immigrants increase? What did San Francisco do in 1906 that caused outrage in Japan? How did Roosevelt plan to soothe their anger?

Answer 48

Prejudice against immigrants from Asia remained high. Many white farmers and factory workers resented the success of the Japanese. In California, the Japanese were barred from owning land and from many economic pursuits. In 1906, San Francisco forced all Asian students, including Japanese children, to attend separate schools. Japan protested the insult, and the issue threatened to cause an international crisis. Unions and other groups also put pressure on President Roosevelt to limit immigration from Japan. Because Japan was a growing naval power in the Pacific, Roosevelt tried to soothe Japanese feelings. He condemned the segregated schools and offered his own solution. If San Francisco ended its segregation order, he would restrict further Japanese immigration.

Question 49

What was the Gentlemen’s Agreement in 1907? How did anti-Asian immigration sentiment increase even after the agreement?

Answer 49

In 1907, Roosevelt reached a “Gentlemen’s Agreement” with Japan. Japan would stop any more workers from going to the United States. The United States, in exchange, would allow Japanese women to join their husbands who were already in this country. Anti-Japanese feeling did not decrease with the Gentlemen’s Agreement. In 1913, California passed a law that banned Asians who were not American citizens from owning land. Before long, the United States would take more drastic steps to stop immigration from Asia.

Question 50

What were the various examples of discrimination against Native Americans? (Remember Americanize)

Answer 50

Though the Dawes Act was unmistakeably a failure, whites did not give up on their attempts to Americanize Native Americans, or American Indians. The discrimination against American Indian groups took many forms. They had been been robbed of their lands, forced to abandon their traditional ways of survival, and were being forced to adopt white American customs. The federal government established schools to teach American Indian children English. Attendance was mandatory. At these schools American Indians were given new names, haircuts, and clothing, according to white American practices.

Question 51

What conditions did Native Americans have to deal with on and off of the reservations?

Answer 51

American Indians who lived on reservations continued to rely on the federal government for assistance. On the reservation many struggled with poverty, alcohol, and a lack of employment. Off of the reservation, many faced prejudice and discrimination.

Question 52

What was the Society of American Indians? Why did it go out of existence in 1925?

Answer 52

In the early 1900s, a new generation of American Indian leaders emerged. One group set up the Society of American Indians. It included artists, writers, Christian ministers, lawyers, and doctors from many different peoples. The Society worked for social justice and tried to educate white Americans about Indian life. However, it supported policies to force Indians into the American mainstream by abolishing reservations. This created so much opposition among American Indian groups that the Society went out of existence in 1925.

Question 53

Who was Elizabeth Blackwell?

Answer 53

In 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell graduated from Geneva Medical College in New York, becoming the first woman in the United States to earn a medical degree. She later started the New York Infirmary for Women and Children for the purpose of training female doctors and providing healthcare to people who lived in poverty.

Question 54

Who was Susanna Madora Salter?

Answer 54

In 1887, Susanna Madora Salter became the first woman elected to any state political office. She became mayor of Argonia, Kansas, even before women received the right to vote nationwide. This was largely because the town was a small Quaker village with fewer than 500 residents. Quakers had a long tradition of viewing men and women as equal.

Question 55

Who was Maggie Lena Walker?

Answer 55

Maggie Lena Walker worked throughout her life as a civil rights activist for African Americans and women. As a successful entrepreneur and public speaker, she challenged both gender and racial discrimination in early 1900s American society. She was also the first woman in the United States to establish a bank and serve as its president.