A Day in the Life of

President Theodore Roosevelt:

Progressive Era Problem Solver

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During the past few units, you have learned how the United States changed during the

late 19th and early 20th centuries:

• Immigration from European and Asian countries increased tremendously.

• People moved from rural to urban areas, causing cities to grow at a very fast speed.

• The country changed from an agricultural society to an industrial giant.

Review Immigration

Review Urbanization

Review Industrialization

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ImmigrationDefinition: • The act of coming to live permanently in

another country.

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UrbanizationDefinition: • The development and growth of cities

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IndustrializationDefinition: • The development and growth of industries

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Introduction:It is 1902, and Theodore Roosevelt has recently become President of the United States. He has heard the country faces many problems that grew as a result of

immigration, urbanization, and industrialization. He has decided to visit one of the largest cities in the country - New York City – to see for himself the

problems in need of solutions. President Roosevelt has asked you to come along

and assist him in examining the problems and possible solutions.

WHAT AN HONOR!

You There! Let’s go to

NYC!

Continue

Go to tenement building

Go to sweatshop

Stroll through Little Italy

Exit

As you walk into the building with President Roosevelt, you make some observations about what you see:

• Very small with few rooms

• Crowded and cramped• Dirty• Multiple families in

tenement apartment

President Roosevelt is shocked at what he sees, and tries to figure out what the cause of these living conditions are. He asks for your opinion.

What are you going to tell President Roosevelt?

The population has grown too

quickly

Industries have grown too quickly

People choose to live like this.

As you walk into the sweatshop with President Roosevelt, you speak to an employee about their job. They describe the environment as:

• Crowded and dangerous with fire hazards everywhere

• Low pay and long hours• Too many child workers

who should be in school

President Roosevelt is shocked at what he sees, and tries to figure out what the cause of these working conditions are. He asks for your opinion.

What are you going to tell President Roosevelt?

Cities have grown too quickly

Factory owners take advantage of

workers

Longer hours means more products are

made

As you stroll through the streets of Little Italy, you and President Roosevelt notice what looks like shady business going on in one of the stores. You

step inside to take a better look.Continue

As more and more people moved to the cities, either looking for jobs or as immigrants from another country, life in the cities changed dramatically. Cities grew too

quickly, and tenement buildings in the slum neighborhoods were often crowded, filthy, and full of

disease. People lived in poverty, so they could not move to safer, cleaner neighborhoods.

You Are Correct!

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Although the growth of industries was a reason why cities grew during the late

1800s and early 1900s, there is a better reason why people lived in poverty in

crowded tenement buildings.

Try Again

Although most sweatshops were located in the crowded cities and are a big reason

why cities grew, this is not what caused the industrialization problems.

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Most factory owners had one thing on their mind: to make as much money as possible. They did not care if workers

worked long hours for little pay in unsafe conditions. Factory owners also liked to employ children because they could pay them even less than they paid adults.

You Are Correct!

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Although many politicians did try to take advantage of the new immigrants arriving daily, this was not common in most cities.

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Political machines were powerful groups in some of the country’s largest cities. They often promised to give food,

shelter, and protection in exchange for voting bribes. Political machines targeted immigrants because they

knew that most were arriving in the U.S. with no money, no job, etc.

You Are Correct!

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President Roosevelt thinks about how to

solve this problem. He has two ideas:

Help President Roosevelt determine which of the following choices can best help fix the over crowded tenement problem.

Set rules for the number of people living in one place

Set up programs to help those living in

poverty

Although setting rules for the maximum number of people living in one area is a

good idea, New York City has a population of 3 million people. With a population this large, it would be difficult to enforce any

laws about housing limits.

Go Back and Try Again

You are not the only one who thinks that programs should

be put in place to help people living in poor, crowded

tenement buildings in the slum parts of the city.

In Chicago, IL, a woman named Jane Addams has

already set up many programs to help the poor living in her city. You decide to give her a

call.

Click to call Jane Addams

I established Hull House in 1889 when I realized how many Chicago immigrants were living in poverty. Hull House provides the residents of Chicago numerous programs and opportunities.

Click to find out about Hull House programs

Hull House is dedicated to providing educational, social and artistic programs for the poor residents of Chicago.

Some programs and facilities we are best known

for are:• Gymnasium• Playground• Art gallery and art studio• Music school• Boy’s club• Auditorium• Cafeteria• Kindergarten• Nursery• Libraries• Clinic

Click to continue

Excellent Work! Let’s continue.

President Roosevelt feels very confident that building a settlement house such as Hull House will benefit the New York City

immigrants.

Click to continue on your journey

President Roosevelt thinks

about how to solve this

problem. He has two ideas:

Help President Roosevelt determine which of the following choices can best help the workers in sweatshops get better pay, shorter hours, and

safer conditions.

Click to encourage workers to go on

strike.

Click to encourage workers to form a

labor union.

To protest the working conditions in the sweatshops, many employees did go on strike. But often times they got fired for

doing so. Before taking action and going on strike, workers needed to do something

else first.

Go Back and Try Again

You are not the only one who thinks that workers should form

unions. As a labor union, workers unite and stand strong together to demand better working conditions,

shorter hours, and better pay. A sweatshop can’t fire hundreds of employees without losing lots of

money.

A man named Samuel Gompers has founded a very large workers

union called the American Federation of Labor. You decide to

give him a call for some advice.

Click to call Samuel Gompers

I founded the American Federation of Labor in 1886 when I realized workers were being taken advantage of by big

businesses. When workers unite together, they have a better chance of gaining what they are asking for than if they try all by themselves. If factory owners do not give unions what they ask

for, then I encourage the workers to go on strike until their demands are met.

Click to continue

Excellent Work! Let’s continue.

President Roosevelt feels very confident that urging workers to form unions is the way to achieve shorter work hours, better pay,

and most importantly safer working conditions.

Click to continue on your journey

President Roosevelt thinks

about how to solve this problem. He has two ideas:

Help President Roosevelt determine which of the following choices can best end political corruption in major cities.

Click to ignoreClick to create political reforms

(changes).

Ignoring the problem will only make it worse. If you choose this, political

corruption will continue and most likely spread into other cities.

Go Back and Try Again

Excellent Work! Let’s continue.

President Roosevelt agrees that creating political reforms is the best option. This will help put the power of the government back into the hands of the

people like a true democracy should be. But this will take help from lawmakers in Washington, D.C. He has some ideas, but needs to talk with specialists on

the issues before declaring any changes.

Click to continue on your journey

So you say your family needs a Thanksgiving

turkey? Well I know how you can get one. All you

have to do is promise your vote on election day.

Yes, sir. Of course. Thank you so much for your

help. The vote is promised.

Click to continue

Click to continue

Now hold on there! This country is a democracy, which means the people have the right to vote for who they choose. You have no right to bribe

anyone for votes.

Political Machine definition

Political MachineDefinition: • A small group who controls the activities of a

political party. • Usually headed by a “boss”• Use bribery and other forms of corruption to

bring in voters, which keeps the machine in power.

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If people had a choice, they would not live in crowded

tenements in the slum neighborhoods.

Immigrants who recently arrived in the United States

came with little more than the clothes on their backs. They

were uneducated, which meant the only jobs they could find

were in sweatshops. They were paid very little, and so poverty

kept them in these living conditions.

Try Again

It is true that longer hours resulted in greater production. This meant that more products were ready to be sold, which brought factory owners lots of

money.

It is also true that the less factory owners paid their

employees, the more money they kept for themselves.

But long hours and low pay are unfair to workers.

Try Again

President Roosevelt is shocked at what he sees, and tries to figure out what the cause of political corruption is. He asks for your opinion. What

are you going to tell President Roosevelt?

All politicians do this

Political machines used power to

bribe immigrants.

Conclusion:President Roosevelt is very thankful that he

had you to brainstorm ideas with as he traveled through New York City.

He is planning to take your ideas and suggestions back to D.C. so that laws and programs can be created to fix the problems associated with immigration,

urbanization, and industrialization.

Good Work!

You There! Thank you

for your help!