Having visited the Tenement Museum only a week ago, Foner’s descriptions of late 19th and early 20th century living conditions were vivid in my mind.  The lack of basic necessities  including plumbing, ventilation, heating, and bathrooms made immigrant life in the Lower East Side almost unimaginable by today’s standards.  Even for the contemporary immigrant,  what immigrants faced only a century ago, does not even remotely compare to the quality of life expected when arriving in America.

For me, the most interesting aspects of this chapter, and from our tour, are the following:

1.  The difference between the living standards in the 1890’s and the 1920’s were vast.  Partly thanks the new legislation introduced in 1901 that required certain basic housing standards, the tenement experience varied greatly over a time period of only thirty years.  During our tour, the benefits of living in the 1930’s were evident.  We visited two tenements, and even though the family that lived in the 1890’s apartment was more wealthy than the family who lived in the 1920’s tenement, the 1920’s tenement was almost luxurious in comparison.

2.  In our readings we have mostly focused in NYC as a whole in terms of demographic trends.  Although we sometimes delve into specific neighborhoods, the amount of detail Foner provided regarding diversity within only the Lower East Side helped to show just how many “types” of stories there were even in one neighborhood.  Not everyone in the Lower East Side was of the same ethnicity, and even those who were each had individual paths to America, and different outcomes while living here.  Some stuck to religious and cultural traditions, while others assimilated.  Some became wealthier and moved into higher classes, but many were only able to offer social mobility to their children, while still others could not even do that much.

-Victor Rerick