Gilded Age Immigration Research Paper

Words: 429
Pages: 2

The United States endured major progressions in technology, between 1877 and 1900. This produced tremendous economic expansion throughout many industries. Immigrants came to America in quest of wealth and jobs, causing a large growth in the population. This growth in immigration soon became known as the Gilded Age. The introduction of modern technologies along with railroads started an expansion in commerce, production, and transportation. Farms and factories saw spikes in growth, productivity, and profits. The United States became the hope of many, but life in America for new immigrants soon would show how difficult and harsh life in America really was.

New discoveries and improvements in American industries, led many immigrants to think there was an intensified desire for labor which meant a vigorous life in America. Perceptions of the rich lifestyle expanded throughout Europe driving more immigrants in exploration of misleading opportunity for wealth and jobs. In actuality, the late nineteenth-century growth generated an immense hiatus between the rich and the poor. As the population increased, as a result of immigration, the demand for employment diminished causing great amounts of
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Tenements were typically four to six stories and housed multiple families. The districts, which consisted of the tenements, "suffered from high rates of disease and death, much of it caused when drinking water became contaminated by bacteria due to primitive sewage systems" (Keene, 507). Although, some of the diseases were caused by horses and the inadequate cleanup of their manure. This created many issues concerning the selling of food and other goods along the sidewalks of these disease infested streets. Some issues including epidemics like typhoid fever, bronchitis, and pneumonia caused large death tolls throughout the tenement