Monthly Archives: February 2011

When our class discussed what draws immigrants to places like New York, one of our best-agreed-upon answers was the economic opportunity and relatively high standard of living that such cities supposedly have to offer…. which is obviously pretty hard to … Continue reading →

I agree with everybody who said that conditions were deplorable in the tenements of the Five Points. The cramped conditions, the lack of plumbing, the disease etc. And while things may have improved, I’m not so sure that there are … Continue reading →

Like Rebecca, I also felt that I was receiving contradictory messages regarding immigration. When the immigrants first began to live in New York, did it truly seem worth the effort they had exerted to come? The filthy conditions were absolutely … Continue reading →

Like others, it is hard for me to imagine living in Five Points or the early tenements during that time. I’m with Rebecca when she scoffs at their reluctance to build a prison because they were afraid of a cholera … Continue reading →

It was pretty interesting/scary to read about the tenements in Five Points. Interesting because I never realized how horrible the conditions actually were for residents living there, and scary because it made me wonder about the world outside of my … Continue reading →

There is definitely a stark contrast between life more than one hundred years ago and life today, as many people already highlighted. The basic necessities which we have now, such as indoor plumbing that actually functions and insulation from the cold … Continue reading →

As most people before me have said, the conditions in the tenements were horrible. Immigrants were always looked down on, no matter what. The thing I found most incredible was probably in Anbinder’s book, when he was saying that the … Continue reading →

I agree with both Liz and Rebecca when they describe their disgust with the conditions of the town of Five Points. It’s absolutely awful that immigrants came to New York with the idea of living a better life, and instead … Continue reading →

Like all the others have mentioned, reading about the horrible conditions of the tenements where the immigrants had to live and survive daily was very disturbing and hard to imagine. There was no place to sleep, no place to go … Continue reading →

Like many others, I agree with Elizabeth when she mentioned that capitalism is not completely to blame for the atrocities faced by immigrants in the early 20th century.  I think that the problem, as Anbinder mentioned, was the government’s “Laissez-faire” … Continue reading →