During the late eighteenth century and early to mid nineteenth century, there was a mass exodus of people from Europe, China, Japan, Canada and the West Indies moving into the United States. This was a time for growth in the United States, often referred to as the Industrial Age. Skilled and unskilled labor was plentiful; however, the wage was scarce. In this essay, I will discuss how immigration had both a positive and negative impact on immigrants and their family relations who resided in the urban areas.
There was a great deal of variation in the immigrants that traveled to the America, some were single young males, single young females, others husbands and in very rare cases an entire family would travel together (Each from a different country and background). .
"The motives for immigration have been always a mixture of yearning-for riches, for land, for change, for tranquility, for freedom, and for something not definable in words- (Jones, 1960, pp 4-5).
It was not until they reached the United States where they confronted with the issues of urban poverty. The jobs that were available worked long hours, and paid very little. With whatever money that was earned, it is most likely that it had to be used to pay for housing. Housing in urban areas was scarce. Landlords were aware of the demand for housing and charged high rental fees. Often using a large amount of the money that was earned by working. It was a vicious cycle, work to live and lived to work. It was not uncommon to find multiple tenements living in one apartment, each residing in shifts. Men that traveled to the United States to send money to their families in their home countries often discontinued contact. They were embarrassed of their situation, they were not able to send any money, due to the low wages, and all that could be afforded was being spent on living quarters. Because of this, many families were destroyed.
