The Urban Poor and Immigrants: Problems and Solutions

The problems of the early 20th century city were many: poor sanitation, no public services, poor safety precautions, and the complications of immigration. Two conflicting camps took hold of the city structure. One such camp was led by Jane Addams and Hull House, her haven for the poor and endangered. She saw the city as a place of great danger for many immigrants and felt that they needed a place to be fed and given proper resources to right themselves. The volunteers for this house were great in numbers, but problems still persisted due to the language barrier and lack of resources. Despite these set backs, Addams felt that solving the problems of the impoverished was a duty that held intrinsic rewards, satisfying the need to help others in need.

But Addams did not go unopposed and was met with resistance by city “bosses.” The city boss at the time of Addams’ philanthropy, “Johnny” Powers, was a notoriously corrupt Democratic politician that lined his pockets with kick backs and filled the seats of city office with those who were in his corner. Powers held a great deal of apprehension and disdain for the actions of Addams and Hull House, favoring big industry with city funds and neglecting the needs of his constituents. Political fighting over the issue of urban poor and the big business politics included Addams applying for garbage inspector and an attempt by volunteers of Hull House to build a coalition against Powers. Even though they were sure that Powers would succeed, the volunteers and social workers wanted to create setbacks for Powers and his allies