Skip to content
Chronological Reasoning and Causation

Tenement Reform: How successful are governments at solving social problems?

  1. Load "Look at This Dump on Jackson Avenue," Drug & Hospital Employees Union, Local 1199, New York City, c. 1967 in Main Image Viewer
  2. Load Young Boy in Cluttered Kitchen, New York City Housing Authority, c. 1960s in Main Image Viewer
  3. Load The Tenement House Law, 1901 in Main Image Viewer
  4. Load The Tenement House Law, 1901 in Main Image Viewer
  5. Load The Tenement House Law, 1901 in Main Image Viewer
  6. Load The Tenement House Problem, 1903 in Main Image Viewer
  7. Load The Tenement House Problem, 1903 in Main Image Viewer
  8. Load The Tenement House Problem, 1903 in Main Image Viewer
  9. Load The Tenement House Problem, 1903 in Main Image Viewer
  10. Load The Tenement House Problem, 1903 in Main Image Viewer
  11. Load The Tenement House Problem, 1903 in Main Image Viewer
  12. Load The Tenement House Problem, 1903 in Main Image Viewer
  13. Load The Tenement House Problem, 1903 in Main Image Viewer
  14. Load The Tenement House Problem, 1903 in Main Image Viewer
  15. Load The Tenement House Problem, 1903 in Main Image Viewer
  16. Load The Tenement House Problem, 1903 in Main Image Viewer

Suggested Teaching Instructions

Setting the Stage
​What is a social problem? Watch the following video and discuss with students the definition of a social problem. Why do social problems exist? What social problems do we have today?

 

Learning Standards and Practices
11.5 INDUSTRIALIZATION AND URBANIZATION (1870 – 1920): The United States was transformed from an agrarian to an increasingly industrial and urbanized society. Although
this transformation created new economic opportunities, it also created societal problems that were addressed by a variety of reform efforts.
(Standards: 1, 3, 4, 5; Themes: TCC, GEO, SOC, CIV, TECH)
11.5b Rapid industrialization and urbanization created significant challenges and societal problems that were addressed by a variety of reform efforts.
Students will trace reform efforts by individuals and the consequences of those efforts, including: New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt and the Tenement Reform Commission