Poor Working Conditions In America

Immigrants ventured to America to live the American dream. They wanted independence and freedom, but many were stripped of their freedom and thrown into factories and companies where they worked strenuous hours on back-breaking jobs, only to get paid a couple dollars. Without other options, these immigrants and other poor people were essentially slaves to the industry and were subjected to low wages, poor living conditions, long hours, and poor working conditions. The extremely low salaries forced workers to stay working to try and provide necessary items for their families. Food ran scarce in families and cramped houses and tenement apartments had little light, hardly any fresh air, and awful plumbing and waste management. Workers were forced to live in these harsh conditions, because this was the only thing they could afford. Families forced the young to go out and work and relied on them to earn half a dollar a day. Most families could not save any of their money, because they were living day to day, so getting out of these conditions were almost impossible. In fact, “As late as the year 1900, [in] the United States...Most industrial workers... earned from 20 to 40 percent less than the minimum deemed necessary for a decent life” (U.S. Dept. of State). This shows that most of these workers
For example, “Elzbieta was used to working, but she found this change a hard one, for the reason that she had to stand motionless upon her feet from seven o’clock in the morning till half-past twelve, and again from one till half-past five” (Sinclair). however, workers suffered through the long hours of work to provide for their families. The situation continued for most workers until the government stepped in. During the 1900’s, industrial workers still worked 10-12 hours a day. Therefore, work took up most their day only leaving time to go back home, sleep ,and get back up, just to repeat the cycle again and