Massive immigration from Europe-estimated to have totaled 35 million people in the fifty years following the Civil War-contributed to the rise of urban populations, including that of New York City, where The House of Mirth is set.
Before 1890, most of the city's immigrants were from northern and western Europe, predominantly Ireland and Germany; after 1890, however, people began to stream into the city from eastern and southern Europe. Most were escaping political and social strife in countries like Russia. Predictably, the rapid rise in urban populations brought slums that sprang up to accommodate the immigrants and migrants who formed America's new industrial work force. Most were overcrowded, and unsanitary conditions were common. The percentage of the population living in poverty swelled, and the surplus of unskilled and often illiterate workers kept wages very low. With hordes of people eager to take low-paying jobs in the city, business and factory owners could pay exploitative salaries.
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