Poor vs. Rich
By: Olivia Piscatelli
Work Life
Work life for the poor was hard because no one really cared about them. They were in dirty work spaces and had dangerous environments and it wasn't a big concern for anyone. There was smog that they would breathe in and there were fire hazards everywhere. The rich like Rockefeller just sat back and took advantage of the poor and make all this money and not have to go through all the pain and suffering that the working class did. Rockefeller did not give his workers fair treatment. He made them feel like he was above them just because he had more money.
Housing
The working class had to live in what was called tenements. There were multiple small, crowded apartments that would have multiple families stuck in them. While the richer would live in big houses like mansions the working class would be crammed in a small living area. You could barely move and there was barely any room for anything. But because more and more people were coming to the cities, they would get put into these so that the government could fit everyone in the city. But, as stated before no one really worried about the well being of the working class. They just worried about sticking them somewhere so they could bring more people in.
Child Life
Children were treated like adults during this time. They were given jobs adult jobs and had to work 8 hour shifts every day. Some children had to work at such a young age because they had to support their family because of their deceased fathers or because there were too many kids. A few of the jobs given were; Mills, newsies, minors, in factories, seafood workers, field and farm work, salesmen, bootblack, bowling boys, or postal telegraph. Also, their age ranges were from 5-11 years old, boys and girls and some of them were to little to even fit on the machines so they had to stand on them and it caused a very dangerous situation for them. The environment for these children was also very dangerous because it was very dirty and there wasn't much medical help. Because of the dirtiness and dangerous ways of the factories and other jobs, a lot of children died.
Leisure Activities
The poor did things like go to church because they didn't have much to choose from. The rich would be given more privileges just because of their money. While the poor would be stuck working or going to church in their free time. It is quite sad because the working class was treated so much worse and so much different just because they didn't have all the money that the rich people did. But, if the working class was given a fair chance they could have worked themselves up. But the rich just wanted to take advantage of them so they didn't have to work themselves and they could just sit back and get a lot of money. The rich were able to do whatever they wanted like crocheting or going out to eat and spending all of their money whenever they wanted.