Evaluate the effectiveness of the social gospel movement in addressing the important social issues of the industrial age (tenement housing, poverty, child labor). in your answer, reflect on the immediate solutions as well as long-term effects.

With regards to housing issues, the settlement movement did have a noticeable positive impact. The settlement movement was inspired by the gospel movement to improve the horrible living conditions of workers, the poor and immigrants in big cities. The most famous example is Hull House, which opened in Chicago in 1899 and provided adequate housing to poor workers and immigrants. These settlement houses also provided esseantial social services to people living in the slums if big cities, such as health care, education, daycare, medical checkups and sometimes even food assistance.

With regards to poverty, it is important to mention Colorado as the center of social gospel for America. A Methodist leader, Thomas Uzzel, set up important services for poor people, workers and immigrants such as a free medical dispensary, job-seeking assistance services, night school but for beginners and for people with some education who wanted to further their studies, language classes for the immigrants and summer school camps for the children of all these groups. Food dispensaries were also proposed to people in need. There was also social activism about corruption of government officials. In Seattle, Mark Matthews was a Presbyterian Church leader who actually investigated the crimes of corrupt politicians, saloon keepers and businessmen.

With regards to child labor and labor conditions for workers, the Social Gospel greatly influenced the American Federation of Labor, which started preaching unionization to defend workers and its meetings were held as Christian religious revivals.

One negative aspect of the Social Gospel movement was the influence of its Conservative wing. Such elements within the movement were actually more concerned with alcohol abuse, swearing, gambling and public morality. This part of the movement’s influence was so powerful that it laid down the ground for Prohibition in the 1920s.

The Social movement had an everlasting influence in American society, even until the 1960s, President Lyndon Banes Johnson’s programs such as Great Society followed many of its progressive principles.

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