As I read more and more on the lives of New York City immigrants, particularly those living in the area formerly known as Five Points, I am coming to understand that the American Dream is exactly as it is described: a dream. After hearing Tyler Anbinder describe the children who spent their lives, every day of every week, working hard to earn minuscule wages for their parents to spend on alcohol, I feel extremely fortunate to have grown up in a household in which I have been given a loving family and the opportunity to pursue my own interests. This children were not able to get an education, and only knew how to sell something, or make a certain type of ware, or do a certain service. The youth of Five Points were stuck doing this every single day, with the small hope that one day, they might strike it rich. Growing up today, many American children have been born into the “dream” of the immigrants who traveled here, and many have a direction in life. These children had no direction other than day to day survival; I could not imagine the emotions they must have gone through each day. If they didn’t come home fulfilling a certain quota of earnings, they would likely get beaten by their drunk parents who sat at home all day.
Then there were the parents who worked hard all day, and got paid next to nothing. Women were at even more of a disadvantage; some became mistresses, (which was essentially slavery), which others needed to wait until their husbands passed away, if they made it that far themselves, in order to inherit the family business. Some immigrants actually fought back against their low wages. Those who worked in the textile industry were paid by the shirt, and sometimes the merchant might send the shirts back, claiming they were “not good” and refuse to pay them. As a result, some immigrants sold shirts themselves, and although it would have been tough to compete with the ready to buy selection of the merchants, the idea of fighting back was important. Even children stood up for themselves. Some newspaper boys bonded together to protest a law that would keep kids off the street during Sundays, when there was the potential for a large profit to be made. The fact that the immigrants were willing to stand up for themselves exemplifies the perseverance and strong-mindedness it took to live in an area such as Five Points. No one was willing to give up.
However, it is worth noting that some immigrants from Ireland actually found themselves a lot better off and with some money in their bank account. While it is debatable whether the facts are true or misleading, some argue that because they were already accustomed to hard work, getting paid better (compared to their home country) was a huge plus for them.
Overall though, if this drastic and disgusting scenario is combined with the fact that these people were living in poverty, were prejudiced against, and were thought as people living in a slum, it is not hard to imagine that life was probably a burden on many people each and every day.
