Explore the following websites devoted to virtual tours of NYC turn of the century tenements. Give a comparison/ contrast assessment of life in the tenements as opposed to your life here in the Plymouth region today.
http://www.tenement.org/Virtual_Tour/index_virtual.html
http://www.thirteen.org/tenement/
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Obviously life today is different from life during the immigration age of the industrial revolution. Some of the main differences are in the way we live are due to our geographical location and the governmental policies that have been instituted during the time. Many of the similarities are due to our "American Dream" attitude.
The immigrants had to live without mainly due to the fact that they started without. They were willing to leave their homes and risk it for success. They had little when they came here so they were easily exploited by the foremen of the industries and resented by the true American people of the time because they were replacing them in the workforce. Most of the houses on the tours were the same with three rooms, but many people lived in worse conditions than this. They live with a large group of people in a small space.
Today most people have more luxuries because the government has come to terms with the fact that business needs some regulations and that the worker needs a set amount of sustenance in order to live. In order for the government to realize this it took the work of unions, strikes, and many radical workers being stubborn and fighting for what they wanted. Due to these people fighting in the way they did we have minimum wages, and welfare programs that support those who cannot do so on their own. We live differently in Plymouth because there is more land for less people. Compared to the cities our towns represent open spaces of undeveloped land. In addition to having government regulations and less people per mile we also have better technology that allows work to be more efficient and easier for people. We live differently because the times are different.
We are similar because we share the same "American Dream" both people want to improve their lives and are willing to work hard to do it. As a human being it is hard to be satisfied with what you have, and especially with Americans we work hard to change that.
Life during the age of mass immigration was quite different from life today. These differences include housing, quality of life, and location of living place.
The immigrants were exploited and taken advantage of. The hardships they indured caused some resentment among the lower classes. However due to their statuses they were unable to make real changes in their lives. The tenements they lived in were small and cramped with poor ventalation and sanitation. These tenements often housed several families. The crowded conditions were cause for a mass break outs of cholera and other diseases.
Today howerer, the standard of living is higher and eeveryonehas a voice. Workerws are still exploited however, but now it is namely illegal immigrants. Housing is less crowded with rules about the number of families in one apartments. Apartment buildings now have many regulations regarding the safety of its inhabitants.
The conditions of today are much better than those of the mass immigration period. Obviously living in the rural part of NH compared with NYC in the 1800's and early 1900's.
It is plain to see that there are hundreds of differences between the life of an immigrant in the New York tenements and life here in PLymouth, NH. However there are some similarities within family untis. Just as in the tenements life here in PLymouth is also dominated by family organized into one living area. Whether a house or an apartment. A huge difference is in the living conditions in the tenements. Many times there would be 6-10 people in one room. Here there are normally about 4-6 people under one roof. So obviously the living conditions for us are much better. Another huge difference is in the economy of the region. Here many people are involved in the service industry and some manufacturing, whereas in the tenements they relied on the local factories for work which provided barely enough money to survive on and in many cases not enough.
Another huge difference in the family structure is that in many families in the tenements the children were expected to make enough money to pay for most of the cost of their life. Here kids arent expected to work until they are 16 instead of 6.
Another huge difference is in the quality of lfe, in many cases in the tenements they had barely enough to survive. Here in Plymouth we are able to afford many frivolous items and luxuries.
Overall although our goals may be the same to achieve the american dream, but how able we are to fufill that dream is very different.
Life in an early nineteenth centuy tenament seems like another world entirely compared to the living conditions we have today. Although, there are a few exceptions.
We no longer live in cramped slums, we have a consistent supply of running water, and whole families generally don't live in one room. Amongst the filthy living spaces there were also decent appartments. Apartments such a the Gumpertz's were well furnished and liveable places to raise a family.
Here in Plymouth NH, most families live in houses with individual rooms and living quarters. The squallor that existed in the early nineteenth century has been eliminated by building codes and zoning laws. Running water and electricity is plentiful through out the town.
The one exception to this is the college dorms and frat houses. These scholars seem to shun the traditional ideas of clean living, running water, and personal hygiene for a return to the tenements of 1900.
Scott Mills -
Life in the tenements, compared to life in Plymouth, NH is, in some ways, the same. In the tenements, there lived families ranging from 3 people, to many more. Another similarity between life in the tenements and life in Plymouth is the way that people balanced work and the way they lived. The man in the family worked, while the woman stayed home and tended to the home. In some ways this is not true, but in my house my mom does most of the cleaning, though she still works just as much as my dad. Another similarity is that the woman tried to keep the home clean, and as well kept as possible, even if they did not have the nicest of posessions.
Tenement life is also different from life in Plymouth for many reasons. Housing and the way people lived was certainly different. The tenements were smaller than a normal house and thel living conditions were a lot worse. Geographics was a main difference between the tenements and Plymouth, too. In plymouth, there is more land available for people, while the tenements were located in the city, where people were crowded together. This may have caused worse living conditions. The bad thing about the living conditions of these people was that they could not really do anything about it because of their social class.
The tenements and life in Plymouth and the surrounding area was similar because everyone wanted to be prosperous, and everyojne wanted to overcome certain obstacles, though sometimes this was not possible. Education was certainly a factor in this inability to overcome obstacles, as well as the family you were born into.
Some of the most drastic differences between even modern Plymouth and New York City is the amount of people who live in the communities. Even in the apartment buildings, which both cities have, there is no building over 5 stories in Plymouth. A 5 story building in NYC is about to be torn down to allow room for a larger and much more accomadating one. Living in an early 20th century tenement was tight and repugnant. The conditions then compared to the conditions today in Plymouth are like night and day. The Department of Health and Human Services would have any building with even half of the filth as did the early buildings would have been condemned and all of the residents would be screened and out of a home. Despite these differences, modern Plymouth and turn of the century NYC do have some similarities. All of the college students living in the apartment buildings and student apartments do resemble the life style of NYC. Granted Plymouth is no where close to the number of people and the filth level, but the kids do not treat these apartments and rentals as one would there permanent homes. Unfortunately neither did most of the city dwellers. But the ones that did (usually the immigrants)were stuck with the remnants of the destruction and mayhem that was still evidant. Through the advances of technology, and the updating of building codes and sanitation laws, there is a huge change from the NYC of the day to the Plymouth of today.
The tenements at the turn of the century in New York City are much different than how we live today in the Plymouth area. Two main differences are the time and place. Life in the city is very different to life in smaller towns no matter what time period. The time though does make a difference, with the standard of living being different from that time. Being much higher today, it demonstrates how the lower class lives. People at the turn of the century who were at the lowest class lived in slums. Their tenements were crowed and run down. Their lives were extremely difficult. Now, people still have very difficult lives, but not as hard. New laws and safety codes make apartments or tenements better to live in, being cleaning and safer. Also with minimum wage and other codes, earning a living is just slightly easier than it was back then.
There are some similarities though when it comes to life back then in the tenements and life now in Plymouth. The main similrity is that people are just trying to get by. Everyone is just trying to make it through and provide better opportunities for their children. Even the people living in the slums try their hardest to make sure that their kids don't end up like them. Also people then and now are greatful for what they have, even if it is the tiniest bit of things.
I think that the families living in the tenements back then aren't all that different then life today. Depending on where you are,the reality is that these "slum" households are very real.
Back then families of five or more lived in a one room apartment with bad electricity and sometimes no running water. The sanitation of some of the turn of the century tenements were not up to standards of today. Sweatshops were ran from the home where sewing garments for hours only gave you a few cents; pennies even. The Confino family was made up of ten people, living in one small shaby room!
I'm still kind of unfamiliar with Plymouth, but I know that there is a part of town where if you make under a certain amount of money, you can find an apartment that suits your income. I've never been in one of them, but I'm sure that there is a certain standard that is to be kept so these places have water, electricity, and are sanitary. People can work from the home and earn money just by going on the computer, sweatshops aren't longer needed.
What the people of today and in the turn of the century have in common is that even though life gave them less then perfect living conditions, they made the most of what they've got. People like the Confino family still celebrated Passover even though they were probably tight on money. Or even though healthcare is expensive the people of both time periods tried to do their best and give their family the needed help. So even though the times have changed people are still trying to survive. Despite hardships that people face, there are those that are willing to work and make the most of their lives even though there are lots of things stacked against them.
Plymouth, for me, can be divided in to a general two parts. There is the nice, well off houses and the slightly run down college buildings and poorer houses. I believe there are a lot of similarities between the tenements and some of the more run down areas of Plymouth. Both may have a large amount of family living there, The equipment and furnishings probably won't be as nice and the buildings are mostly deteriorating. Recently there has also been many people working from home for not a lot, just like the tenements.
On the contrary, the nicer homes in Plymouth seem the opposite of a tenement in NYC. The sanitation and care of the housing is a huge part. In a larger house there is quite obviously, more room and living space than anything close to what there was in NYC. There are many things that we take for granted like clean, running water, well built and sturdy buildings and easy heat.
Nothing can be the same in Plymouth as it was back then. Life was much harder for the people that lived in the tenements in NYC. I think that people do need to broaden their minds though to different areas of Plymouth and the towns surrounding Plymouth. It is easy forget the houses or apartments that are falling apart and lack proper necessities.
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