Poverty In 19th Century America

During the 19th century, America was faced with the problem of poverty. Two of the groups experiencing poverty were immigrants and African Americans. When immigrants came over to America, most were unequipped with the skills necessary to adapt and become “American,” resulting in them living in their ethnic communities in the poorer areas and being unable to get out of poverty. On the other hand, African Americans faced poverty because of the effects of slavery and racial discrimination. Reformers and self-advocates attempted to help these two communities. Reformers were people who were not part of the community they were trying to help, while self-advocates were part of the community they were advocating for. People like Andrew Carnegie, Mother …show more content…
Andrew Carnegie believed that it was the duty of the wealthy to help the poor. His idea of help came in the form of opportunities “to help those who will help themselves.” The wealthy would provide opportunities, not direct aid, to the poor; these opportunities could take the forms of “free libraries, parks, and means of recreation by which men are helped in body and mind; works of art, certain to give pleasure and improve the general condition of the people.” However, these opportunities did not really help the poor. Libraries, parks, and art did not address the actual causes and effects of poverty: low wages, poor living conditions, and few job opportunities. In addition, to make use of these opportunities, people needed time. Most of the poor had to work all day and did not have time for recreation and other activities. In addition, poor people would most likely be turned away if they did try to use these resources. Riis showed this problem when he asked a young boy where his family goes to church. The boy responded that “we don’t have no clothes to go to church.” If they tried to utilize these facilities, they would most likely be turned away. If the poor were able to access the resources and had the time to, they may not possess the education needed. For example, the Italians, according to Riis, “knows no word of English, but he does not know enough to learn.” Carnegie did not appear to understand the reality of …show more content…
He believed that “charity, pastime, or fad, it will miserably fail, always and everywhere.” Instead, he believed the solution was changing the law, remodeling old tenements, and building new tenements. Laws needed to be created to punish those “who persistently violate law and decency.” Laws could be created to restrict the number of residents each house could hold or to regulate the price. Another way to solve the problem was remodeling old tenement houses. Plumbing and other amenities would be installed, and someone would be put in charge of making sure the house remained clean and orderly. However, while doing this, rents would remain as low as possible. In the same manner, new buildings would be built to at least these standards. The buildings built by the Improved Dwellings Association gave each family two to four rooms. Other accommodations like “coat lifts, ash-chutes, common laundries in the basement, and free bath” were also provided. Better housing, in Riis’ opinion, helped to solve the poverty problem because the living conditions created the poor. Riis believed that the reason for the poor as “shiftless, destructive, and stupid” was because of the living conditions: “they are what the tenements have made them.” The problem with Riis’ solution to poverty was that it did not match with what the people in poverty actually wanted. While the people would benefit from having clean housing, this was not their first