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1

Read the section of the text that describes municipal government reform, including the commission and city-manager forms of city government. The commission plan was pioneered in Texas by Galveston, Houston, Dallas, and other cities. People who were interested in reform in other cities and states often visited the commission pioneers. The following excerpts are from the official report of one such investigative trip to Texas. Consider the following questions: How does the report demonstrate a typical progressive-era concern for businesslike efficiency? How does the report typify the progressive faith that governmental action could solve problems and show results? If the businesslike aspects of the commission plan appealed so strongly to the Illinois senators, how do you suppose they would have regarded the city-manager innovation a few years later? Does the report evince any concern for social justice reforms in the cities studied?

Illinois General Assembly 1909

2

Read the section of the text under the heading "Suffrage for Women." The document below is drawn from a flyer published in 1905 by the Anti-Suffrage Association, based in Albany, New York. The pamphlet was written by noted historian Francis Parkman and was issued several years after his death. Consider the following questions: Why would the emphasis on the "natural" way have been an effective argument against suffrage? To what extent was the suffrage fight a battle among women, as well as between men and women? How do Parkman's arguments compare with those who opposed the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s?

Francis Parkman






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