The Progressive EraMany people believed cities during the progressive era were full of rich and successful people. Although there were some people who this applied to, this wasn't as common as people believed. There were actually thousands of poor people living in cities. The poor had moved to the cities because they were "lured by the promise of prosperity" ("Cities During the Progressive Era"). By 1904, one third of the urban population was close to being starved to death. During this time period, many of the poor within cities lived in tenement housing and "If the skyscraper was the jewel of the American city, the tenement was its boil" ("The Underside of Urban Life"). Tenements had very thin structures and were often overcrowded, and the overcrowding caused spreading if diseases. Poverty also caused an increase in gambling, prostitution, and alcoholism since those in poverty were often very desperate.
The Great Depression |
The Great Depression began on October 24th, 1929 when the stock market had collapsed and caused 13 million people to be unemployed by 1932. Due to the fact that the government was no longer providing unemployment insurance, "lost jobs quickly translated into lost homes and extreme poverty" ("Economics and Poverty"). There wasn't much anyone could do for those who were in poverty or homeless during this time period due to declining tax revenues. At this time "anyone who had even a little money was extremely lucky" ("The Great Depression and the New Deal").
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