Nick Snarr

Document Analysis #5: The Industrial Chasm

The idea of the industrial chasm is present throughout the 1800s. The coming of the
industrial age brought about many innovations into the lives of Americans and those throughout
the world. As manufacturing became more widespread in Europe many people were finding
themselves without work. At this same time America with its vast resources was becoming more
and more a worldwide leader because of these same innovations in manufacturing. Many
immigrants saw this upswing and saw that the American Dream was real and wanted to take a
piece out of that pot. This saw a greater influx of immigrants than any other previous
era.(Lazarus 1883) As many of them found out that this dream was not as glamorous as they
originally thought.
One of the first things that happened to create this chasm between the poor, middle class
and the rich is the housing situation that the immigrants and the lower class experienced when
they moved into urban areas. Most urban residents could not afford either to own a house in
the city or to move to the suburbs. Instead, they stayed in the city centers and rented. Because
demand was so high and space so scarce, they had little bargaining power in the process.
Landlords tried to squeeze as many rent-paying residents as possible into the smallest available
space. In Manhattan, for example, the average population density in 1894 was 143 people per
acre - a higher rate than that of the most crowded cities of Europe (Paris had 127 per acre, Berlin
101) and far higher than in any other American city then or since. In some neighborhoods - the
lower East Side, for example - density was more than 700 people per acre, among the highest
levels in the world. (Riis1890) Most of this population was immigrants. These dense populations

were unsustainable in the job market. Leading to an increased gap between those with and
without money.

These famous lines kind of sum up how immigration was in the U.S. "Give me your tired,
your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming
shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden
door!"(Lazarus 1883) This I believe was one of the problems with the mass immigration at this
time period. There were people that believed moving to America would automatically make their
life better. And then there were those that saw America as a place where it was possible to make
their dreams come true for them and their families through hard work. The great thing about this
country is that everyone is welcome. But it did contribute to this chasm between the social
classes. Many of these urban areas that they came into were over saturated and many of them
were unemployed and falling into debt just to live.

As many of these people were flooding into america from around the world. There were
neighborhoods called immigrant ghettoes. These neighborhoods were close-knit ethnic
communities within cities to help ease the transition into American life. Italian, Polish, Jewish,
Slavic, Chinese, French-Canadian, Mexican, and other neighborhoodsthat attempted to recreated in the New World many of the features of the old. Clearly to ease the pain of separation
from the immigrants' native lands, and tended to reinforce the cultural values of immigrants'
previous societies.(Lazarus 1883) In doing this it contributed to the class chasm that was
already present. America is a melting pot, but at this time everyone was doing their best to be
here but separated, holding on to their old lives in the process.

In the end many factors contributed to the rising social chasm that was created during this
time period. From the lure of the American dream, the greed of the landlords and the separation
that was created due to the differing cultures and ideals.