The Working Urban Poor

The working urban poor had nothing short of a miserable existence, especially those in New York. New York was a beacon for European immigrants, so during the Gilded Age an unprecedented amount of immigrants poured into New York, exacerbating the overpopulation that already created several problems for the working class. Industrialization combined with overpopulation in the city, and the results were disastrous.

Health was a major concern. Air quality was heinous because of manure and garbage in the streets, the coal-burning stove inside, and primitive, leaky sewer pipes underneath. Workers trudged through 16-hour work days and unsafe and unhealthy working conditions. Diseases like cholera, yellow fever, and diphtheria ran their courses in occasional epidemics that no one really had the knowledge or tools to stop.

Living conditions in the city were awful. Because of the severe housing shortage, those in need of housing were exploited...