The Rich Versus The Poor

In the Victorian era as Bettmann reimagines it, there is a clear dichotomy between the rich and the poor. He cites a startling statistic: late in the 19th century, one percent of the American population owned as much as the remaining 99 percent put together. This imbalance had a variety of consequences for the working poor; it is clear a portion of Bettmann's mission in publishing the book is to bring the light class-based inequalities and injustices based upon socio-economic status.

A primary disadvantage suffered by the poor was overpopulation, brought about by population spurts in the late 19th century as well as the massive influx of European immigrants. Overpopulation in and of itself had several ramifications. Housing shortages provided the opportunity for unscrupulous landlords to charge exorbitant rates and execute heartless evictions, while the rich rested comfortably in mansions located sometimes very near dilapidated...