Why were tenements were a difficult place to live?

What were the Negative Effects of Living During Industrial Development?

         The industrial revolution improved the lives of few but, made the majority of the workforce live under strikingly difficult conditions. 2.3 million people lived in the tenements in New York by the 1990's, which was almost two thirds of the population at the time.  Workers employed in factories made little money so they cared little about their living conditions and the money made in the factories barely covered the rent families paid. Working during the industrial development caused many to live basic unfilled lives. Industrial development during 1847-1914 was a curse however, improved the future living conditions based off of these atrocious standards.

           Tenements were low rise buildings built in close proximity of each other. Each building for example, was from one to two feet away from the other. Each building was five to seven stories tall and built on a lot size of 25 wide by 100 feet long. Families living during 1867-1914, often lived in close to the factory in which the family was employed. Due to such little pay, families would only live in the slums or tenements. A whole family would use a room designated for one to two people and use it for five to nine. Every night, they would rotate on who used the bed or pallet. They crammed people like sardines in a tin can, trash littered rooms, and filthy grime rats infested  these structures. Lighting within the tenement was often pitch black. The only rooms that received light were rooms facing the street. The tenements built disregarded safety[1]. The owners made construction as cost effective as possible by cutting corners everywhere possible. This cheap construction caused improper ventilation as well as having to utilize one bathroom for a couple hundred people living in one building. Geographically, there was approximately 800 people living per acre in the city [2]. Pollution in the tenements created hazardous conditions especially for the children. Sickness spread quickly with so many people living in a small space which led to many becoming gravely ill after a year of living within the buildings. It was a breeding ground for small pox, cholera, typhoid, and tuberculosis. The death rate increased from diseases during this period. These families could not afford medicines to take care of their maladies due to small incomes. As the population continues increasing, it caused even more crowding and made conditions more severe. One in every ten infants would die living in the tenements. The people working in the factories had to fight for basic necessities to live.             Privacy could not be found with cheap thin walls and overcrowding. During the summer, many living in tenements would faint from heat and fatigue. The heat within the tenements would remain, and stay stagnant. Trash would blossom into a deathly smell, and horse pies on the road would stagnate the air even more. Trash from the tenements would often be tossed down air ducts as garbage chutes, making many residents close their windows from the disgusting smell. Buildings usually lacked running water, and made it difficult for families to bathe properly, as well as launder their clothing.  Families struggled to feed themselves with their low incomes and many of the family members starved. They often faced problems of alcoholism and crime.  Many who could not deal with their struggles drank to get rid of their woes. Some families would steal from others to make ends meet. Eventually, families worked out of their small homes on top of their regular work. Women especially would take extra work back with them from the factories, as well as  make cigars. Families would work as much as they could even if meant they would receive less sleep[3]. 

    Very few people were able to have extra luxuries during this development apart from the employers. The middle class, skilled laborers, grew. Skilled laborers were employees who were managers, accountants, and clerks which oversaw unskilled labor. These middle class people made enough money to live without suffering. They chose to live farther away from the cities because of the pollution and illnesses. And so, skilled workers reaped the benefits of industrialization.  

Reforms

[1] A&E Television Networks. "Tenements." History.com. http://www.history.com/topics/tenements (accessed February 20, 2014).

[2] Drehle, Dave. "Sprit of the Age, The Golden Land." In Triangle: the fire that changed America. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2003. 100,101,12,13,14.

[3] "Industrial Revolution Research." Industrial Revolution. http://www.industrialrevolutionresearch.com/industrial_revolution_classes_of_people.php (accessed February 9, 2014).

American cities could be full of glamor and excitement for upper-class and middle-class families. But most Americans living in cities were poor. Living conditions for these Americans meant disease, crime, slums, overcrowding, and pollution.

Tenements

Poor Americans, including most of the new immigrants, lived in a type of housing called a tenement. Tenements were designed to hold many people. Most tenements became overcrowded, creating dangerous conditions. For example, the design of the tenements allowed fire to spread easily from one building to the next.

The overcrowded conditions also led to the spread of dangerous diseases, including cholera and yellow-fever. Tuberculosis killed many people. Almost one-quarter of the babies born during this time period died in their first year.

The Stench of Waste, the Stench of Crime

Conditions in the tenements were terrible. Public sewers created awful smells and polluted the air and the water. It was difficult to dispose of human waste, and the private cesspools overflowed in rainy weather. Often people dumped sewage directly into the rivers and bays, which were also the only sources of household water. There were no systems in place to collect and dispose of trash or purify water. City leaders realized that they needed to develop solutions, but even at the beginning of the 20th century, pollution and trash were still a problem.

People living in tenements also had to deal with crime. Poor people sometimes had to steal to feed themselves or their families. Even people working in factories didn’t earn enough to pay for food. Gangs of young people were on the streets. Desperate people engaged in gambling, prostitution, and alcoholism to escape the terrible living conditions and to earn extra money. The police, who were also underpaid, didn’t enforce laws evenly among poor people and the wealthier people.

Source: The Underside of Urban Life
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