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How The Other Half Lives

A Reflection on

“how the other half lives” is a very detailed book and it lets u know how difficult it was for people to live in 1863.This book is one of those books that definitely affects you as soon as you read it, Jacob Riis the author of the book, wrote it exactly for this purpose, to let people know how the bad conditions they had in New York City. Jacob Riis tells you in full detail how the living conditions were, and who lived in them and how problems they had and were affected by them, Mostly how each ethnic group lived in the tenements, and what the city did to improve them.
With the ever growing craze of coming to America and starting a new and better life many immigrants had to start from the bottom. Many stayed at the bottom. Ethnic groups tended to stick together and in result "claimed" their own territory. Many worked low-wage jobs and were poverty-stricken. Vast immigration and over population was a problem in America.
Immigrants had very little money to start with so in the beginning of the tenement housing it came as a blessing to people living there, because with the low income they were getting it was perfect price to buy. The rent was lower, with small apartments and the actual floor that you were on. From 1869 to 1890 tenement housing almost tripled to over 37,000 tenements in use. after awhile the rent raised up they had no choice but to rent small disgusting rooms which were called “slums” many of the immigrants were exploited by having to pay a large amount of money for such a tiny place, disgusting room’s. The livening conditions were very harmful mainly because an overpopulated tenement spread disease very easily. These were some of the reasons why reporters started to investigate. The Tenement were big rooms were all broken up into small ones, and they basically disregarding light and proper ventilation. Water-rotted roofs or burrowed among the rats of clammy cellars, and the only thing the landlord was after...