Living Conditions In How The Other Half Lives

Living Conditions of Different Ethnic Groups In the book, How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis, the living conditions of the tenements in New York, in the late 1800’s. It discusses the poverty and terrible conditions in which the people had to live, and talks about the acts that were passed to try to improve the conditions. It shows that even though acts were passed that it took many many years for the regulations to actually be upheld and abided by. Tenement owners would charge double the value for half the space of a tenement and would still sometimes evict renters for going behind on payments leaving them stranded in the streets. There was also very little plumbing, which lead to a lot of disease and filth. During this time many children didn’t live past infancy due to malnutrition or disease. The goal of the book was to expose the conditions of New York’s slums to New York’s upper and middle class. In the book, many ethnic groups are talked about, but there were a few that stood out.

The Irish are one group that I am going to talk about. The Irish mainly settled in the West Side tenements district. They were also in general a very friendly group, and the book says, “

I learned a lot about how terrible living conditions were for those seeking a better life in America in the late 1800’s. I had never really even heard about tenements until I read this book, and it really enlightened me to how terrible of times it was for everyone who just wanted the opportunity for a better life for their families. It makes me glad that I live in a time where many people don’t have to live in these conditions, but it also makes me more aware of the poverty that still exists today. I think that there is a lot that we, who are fortunate, could do to help those who are living in poverty. Hopefully, by reading this book, other may be inspired to try and make a difference for the less fortunate in their