Let me begin by saying that while I agree with everyone that Anbinder clearly describes the difficulties the Irish faced back in Ireland, and perhaps for some the conditions in America were better, the prologue to chapter 12 entitled “These ‘Slaves of the Harp,'” showed me a side of New York I knew little about. When I finished reading that anecdote, my only response was “wow.” I felt so much compassion for those Italian children who immigrated to New York and were forced to play music on the street all day. They received little food, were rarely given clean clothing, and slept in cramped quarters. They were beaten and deprived of even these necessities if they did not return to their bosses with enough money.
On the flip side, the many different ethnic groups of Five Points probably made it an interesting place to live. I agree with Toniann that the ethnic diversity of Five Points almost 100 years ago definitely adds variety to our lives today. It is also interesting that many different ethnic groups came and settled in this one location, and were able to all reside together. Even though each nationality had specific blocks, they still resided near one another. People on the next block could have spoken an entirely different language! Anbinder points out, not surprisingly, that there was tension between the groups. The tension between the Irish and the Italians stemmed from differing religious views, but there was also tension between the Irish and the Chinese. Overall, the groups faced similar difficulties and living conditions. They came here and lived in apartments and boarding houses. They opened businesses or engaged in manual labor.
It is also interesting that certain ethnic groups were associated with certain businesses. Irish had their banks, and the Chinese had both cigar making and laundry businesses. Also, overall, the book Five Points teaches us not to judge and that first impressions are not always correct. To me, the most ironic sentence was, “At first, Americans looked upon Chinese cooking with suspicion. But curious Americans soon began to patronize these eateries, and by the 1890’s, Caucasians ventured to Chinatown just for the food.” Now, almost every New York family has Chinese take out menus hanging on their refrigerators.
