Chapter 4

During the 19th century, American cities were industrial and commercial centers for sprawling endless flows of immigrants. Cities such as New York quickly found itself overwhelmed and over capacity. Forcing immigrant family to squeeze into tenement housing typically no larger then your average college dorm room. These building were poorly designed, had no running water and had little to no sanitation. Toilets and running water were found outside in common areas between buildings. The lack of sanitation led to large scale outbreaks of illnesses and disease, that swept through the tenements like wild fire. The tenement housing had very poor ventilation, and during summer months heat waves commonly claimed the lives of children and elderly tenants. Tenement housing wasn't cheap. Living there forced it's tenants to work long hard hours. Before child labor came into effect, even children were sent out to work just as hard as an adults but they worked for a fraction of the pay.