Bohemian Immigrant Stereotypes

In every great city throughout history, there has always been a separation between those who are marginalized and downtrodden and the upper echelons of society. This reached a climax in the first modern metropolis, New York City. At the turn of the twentieth century, the United States of America was in the process of emerging as an industrial and economic world power. The chance to come to the land of opportunity lead to a massive influx of immigrants, the majority of which were uneducated and poor, that swelled the population of many American cities, none more so than New York. Unprepared for such an increase in residents the tenement-housing model was heavily utilized in the city. Referred to as ‘the other half’ the poor, mainly blacks and …show more content…
These new Americans were viewed as second-class citizens by their landlords and employers. No matter where they were from all of the immigrants faced similar stereotypes, such as being stupid or uneducable. However, each nationality faced their own specific stereotype, the Italians were ignorant, illiterate and short-tempered (94). The Jewish people were known for their enslavement to the almighty dollar and the lengths to which they would go to save every cent possible including starvation (134-135). The stereotypes that were created about the Bohemian immigrants proved to be not only incorrect but also detrimental to their employment. They were viewed as anarchists and aggravators who opposed civil obedience and labour unions (154). Due to this they were kept out of the professions that they had before immigrating and had to look for work elsewhere. These stereotypes coupled with the inability to speak English isolated the massive immigrant community from the existing American population and resulted in the inability to find jobs. Those immigrants, who did manage to find work, were treated by their employers as worthless and …show more content…
Due to the nature of the buildings disease spread quickly and without regard. For example, the tenements in Jewtown were ripe breeding grounds for tuberculosis and cholera. The New York Health Department made an attempt to curb the spread of diseases by sending officers into the lower Eastside looking for the sick and infected. Doctors who ventured into the tenements to provide basic services and give what little help they could saw the worst of the tenements, including the high rate of infant mortality. In 1888 of the nine infants who lived in tenement No. 59½ five would not survive the year (103). During the summer, women tailed these doctors with their ailing babies (174). Disease wasn’t the only cause of death; the shortcuts that were taken by builders in attempts to cut costs and speed construction would lead to even more