Immigrants Come to America During the Gilded Age

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In the early 1900’s there was a dramatic increase in the number of immigrants coming to the eastern shores of America. Many were pulled to America because of its economic opportunity, freedom, need for labor and its beautiful country. Immigrants were excited to come to America and were pushed from their home countries because of food shortages, overpopulation, war and political instability. This was going on in an important era in American history called the “gilded age”. It was a time of economic growth, and industrialization but also had high percentages of poverty mainly in urban environments. The majority of the immigrants intended to advance out west but actually settled in the eastern cities. In the book The Jungle, Jargis and his family moved to the Americas and hoped to live the “American Dream” but it was the exact opposite when they arrived. Jurgis, his wife Ona, and the rest of the Lithuanian family struggled with working conditions, living conditions, health problems, and maintaining a stable workplace. They were all dealt with disgusting conditions in the boarding houses and a brutal working environment in Packingtown. In 1905, when the book was written, there were very little government regulations, especially in the meat packing industry, which led to unsafe working conditions and sanitation issues.
The lack of government intervention was causing major issues and uprisings throughout the 1900’s. Places like Packingtown took advantage of the limited regulations enforced by the government and tried to maximize their profits. This led to many problems for the workers in the factory and the meat consumers. First of all, there were very long working hours. A typical day at that time consisted of a

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...et rooms that were open sewers.” (Chapter 26, Page, 295)
This quote describes life in the jungle and why people did not want to live in it. Jargis was a troubled man after he lost work and his family members died but he realized that the jail had better living conditions than the jungle like environment in Packingtown. This is one of the reasons why he frequented the jail so often. This book was also named the jungle because there were animals everywhere; both cows and rats surrounded Packingtown. Some people were actually reported dead after drowning in mud puddles. The jungle is probably the only other place were this could happen. In the real jungle there are no rules or regulations. There are also no government intervention or regulations in America during the time this book was written. Sinclair showed how cruel America was and how America reacted to such

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