8inequality

=Period 8=

The Problems
By the time the 20th century came around, just 2% of the people in America held 50% of the whole nation's wealth. About half of the entire population owned barely anything. There was an enormous **income gap** between the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor. The rich spent a lot of money on unnecessary things, including huge mansions, expensive decorations, and they threw big parties. Meanwhile the poor had to live in tenements with terrible conditions and could barely support their family. Education was also a problem. Most families couldn't afford to send their children to schools. In big cities, **[|**free public education**]** was offered, but in the small towns and farming communities, not much was available. The children of the rich people were sent to private schools and later, colleges. As a result, the children of the rich had a much larger chance at success.

The Solutions
The state and federal governments had to find a way to narrow the gap. They had to somehow lower the income of the rich and try to increase the income of the poor. The first thing they needed was a **graduated income tax** or, the more you make, the more tax you pay. They added the **[|**Sixteenth Amendment**]** to the Constitution to give Congress the power to set an income tax. They also needed a higher tax on corporations and inheritance. Also, the states would have to encourage the rich to donate money to charities and educational programs. Next, the government needed to raise the education level of the lower and middle classes. **[|**Free public education**]** had to be offered everywhere and a law had to be made requiring children to stay in school until they're at least 16. High schools also needed to teach **practical education**, or providing classes that would help train the kids for various jobs that they could have in the future.

The Images

 * [[image:tenement.gif width="300" height="230"]] || Most of the poor people had to live in overcrowded and dirty tenements. ||
 * Picture of Manhattan's Fifth Avenue in 1903. Only the very wealthy could afford mansions like these while most of the others lived in tenements (shown above) || [[image:723936w.jpg width="343" height="264"]] ||

The Primary Sources
"The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration." **- The Sixteenth Amendment from the United States Constitution.**

"I believe the power to make money is a gift of God. . . . I believe it is my duty to make money and still more money and to use the money I make for the good of my fellow man according to the dictates of my conscience." **- [|John D. Rockefeller]**

"To be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race in a land of dollars is the very bottom of hardships." **- [|W.E.B. Du Bois]**

**The Citations**

 * "Fifth Avenue, New York City, ca. 1903." __American History.__ ABC-CLIO Schools Subscription Web Sites. 21 Februrary 2007 <[|http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com]>
 * "John D. Rockefeller: quote on money." __American History.__ ABC-CLIO Schools Subscription Web Sites. 21 Februrary 2007 <[|http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com]>
 * Riis, Jacob. "How Much Is Enough?" 2004 - 2007. The Catholic University Of America. 21 Feb 2007 
 * "The Noble Experiments." __American History.__ ABC-CLIO Schools Subscription Web Sites. 21 Februrary 2007 <[|http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com]>
 * "The Progressive Era" Handout
 * "The Sixteenth Amendment." __American History.__ ABC-CLIO Schools Subscription Web Sites. 21 Februrary 2007 <[|http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com]>
 * "W.E.B. Du Bois: quote on poverty." __American History.__ ABC-CLIO Schools Subscription Web Sites. 21 Februrary 2007 <[|http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com]>