Immigration up until the 1880’s wasn’t much of an issue. America was relatively lenient and the government didn’t have much push back. The first immigrants were well educated and had wealth, while the second round didn’t compare. During this time there was a lot of disease due to the skyrocketing population that continuously grew during the industrial revolution and Americans pegged Immigrants as the reason; but after much complaining from citizens the government was cornered into doing something, which led to The Immigration Act of 1882. “The Immigration Act of 1882 provided the basis for future federal immigration policy as it detailed what types of “undesirable” people would be blocked from entering the United States. 10 The directive prohibited
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Many of the buildings that they moved into were called tenement. “Tenements were notoriously small in size, most contained no more than two rooms. One of the rooms was used as a kitchen and the other as a bedroom. Many families worked out of their own apartments as well- sewing clothes or rolling cigars…the atmosphere was suffocating.” (Raymond). The living conditions were repulsive, it was unsanitary and many tenements didn’t even have lighting. Immigrants had to use windows for light and many even had to go out to pumps to get water and many of the housings didn’t have any, and they had to heat their water on stoves for bathing and washing clothes and dishes (Blanck). During this time the population was doubling every decade and New York was forced to build more tenement buildings or add on to the ones previously there, and even then the workmanship was shoddy and it was incredibly dangerous to live in the housing due to the short cuts that were taken during the construction. Jacob Riis however soon brought light to the horrible conditions that immigrants were being subjected too. “The hard facts included in Riis’ book–such as the fact that 12 adults slept in a room some 13 feet across, and that the infant death rate in the tenements was as high as 1 in 10–stunned many in America and around the world and led to a renewed call for reform.” (Tenements).
Many of the buildings that they moved into were called tenement. “Tenements were notoriously small in size, most contained no more than two rooms. One of the rooms was used as a kitchen and the other as a bedroom. Many families worked out of their own apartments as well- sewing clothes or rolling cigars…the atmosphere was suffocating.” (Raymond). The living conditions were repulsive, it was unsanitary and many tenements didn’t even have lighting. Immigrants had to use windows for light and many even had to go out to pumps to get water and many of the housings didn’t have any, and they had to heat their water on stoves for bathing and washing clothes and dishes (Blanck). During this time the population was doubling every decade and New York was forced to build more tenement buildings or add on to the ones previously there, and even then the workmanship was shoddy and it was incredibly dangerous to live in the housing due to the short cuts that were taken during the construction. Jacob Riis however soon brought light to the horrible conditions that immigrants were being subjected too. “The hard facts included in Riis’ book–such as the fact that 12 adults slept in a room some 13 feet across, and that the infant death rate in the tenements was as high as 1 in 10–stunned many in America and around the world and led to a renewed call for reform.” (Tenements).