Kansas Progresses
Chapter 9
The Beginning of the 20th Century
Kansas entered the St. Louis World Fair with great optimism. Kansas showed a display of how electricity worked. Kansas at the world fair helped the nation progress in economy.
The Progessive Movement
The Progressive Movement was a series of movements to make the United States a more equitable place to live. The Progressives were trying to help the people who could not always help themselves. During the Industrial Age, children began to work directly in factories, working machines took over the job of adults doing more work. People made a law called the Child Labor Law which didn't allow children under the age of fourteen to work.
The Kansas Economy Progress
The new technology of age created a whole new economy for Kansas. The discovery of oil in the El Dorado field had an enormous impact on Kansas, and the United States. Kansans were also involved in the early manufacturing of automobiles, including Walter Chrysler, which means as automobiles became increasingly more common in Kansas, they began to change rural life. The public drinking cup spread diseases including tuberculosis. This is why Dr. Samuel Crumbine banned the public drinking cup.
World War I
World War I began in Europe, the Allies were at war with the central powers. The speech "Win the War with Wheat", stated that patriotic people enlisted to fight for bread. The United States government increased taxes to raise money for the war efforts. The "War to end all wars" had its ups and downs including the flu epidemic of 1918 which started in Kansas, but the war finally ended. One thing that helped Kansas "Win the War with Wheat" was the creation of the first federal land bank.