Changes

Americans were migrating to cities in large numbers in the late 1800s, transforming the nation from a predominantly farming society to into an urban one. Between 1870 and 1920, the population of Americans living in cities increased over five-fold, from 10 million in 1870 to 54 million in 1920. Cities having more than 500,000 people increased from 2 to 12; cities having over 100,000 residents grew from 15 to 68; and for the first time (in 1920) more than half the American population lived in communities having more than 2,500 people. Part of this influx was due to the "New Immigration," when 26 million mostly Europeans came to the United States prior to the cutting off curtailing of most immigration in 1924. The "New Immigration" was more from southern and eastern Europe, which was more Catholic and Jewish, rather than from the more Protestant northern Europe as before. A decline in the profitability of farming also led to migration to cities, as the children of farmers looked for better work and income in urban areas.

In 1890, Jacob Riis wrote an influential book entitled "How the Other Half Lives," which depicted the overcrowdedness of cities and how it caused resulted in gangs and murders. In 1916, the private Urban League was formed with the goal of eliminating discrimination in large cities and supporting social work there.

In 1903, the Women's Trade Union League was founded to unionize women workers , because they were had been excluded from the AFL at its union meeting in Boston. In 1908, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a state State law limiting the number of hours women could work, in the case of ''Muller v. Oregon''. The Court rule ruled ''in favor of'' the regulation of women's working conditions even though it has had previously ruled ''against'' the power of states States to regulate men's working conditions. Specifically, in 1905 the Supreme Court invalidated a state regulation of men's working conditions (maximum hours that can be worked), by holding that it violated freedom of contract (free enterprise) under the Constitution. That was the case of ''Lochner v. New York'', also known as "''Lochner'' doctrine." This ruling stood for decades and became an obstacle in the 1930s to the "New Deal" of President Franklin Roosevelt, who wanted many new regulations in response to the Great Depression.

'''Debate: Should government be able to establish different working conditions for women as compared to men? How about in the case of working conditions that may be harmful to pregnancy or potential pregnancy?'''

In 1923, the Supreme Court invalidated limits on the working hours for women as unconstitutional. This extend ''Lochner'' doctrine to women. The This case was ''Adkins v. Children's Hospital''.