Was Living In America During the Mid-to-Late 1800's for African Americans, Native Americans, and Immigrants?

Essay by mjj328High School, 10th gradeA+, April 2004

download word file, 3 pages 5.0

America was not a great place to be in the late 1800's, especially if you were a Native American, immigrant, or African-American. The Native Americans' homelands were brutally taken over, and they were forced to live on reservations. The immigrants had to deal with the terrible living conditions in the cities and the persecution against them because of their appearance. The African-Americans, despite being declared all the rights of a citizen, were segregated, and voting in the South was made nearly impossible. During this time, living in America would have been a negative experience.

One of the things that made life in America hard for the Native Americans was the Dawes Act of 1887. The Dawes Act stated that the Native Americans would be given 160 acres of land per household, and that they had to farm it. The Act was a failure. The Native American people were not farmers, and couldn't farm the land well.

They also weren't given the proper farming equipment. They were also not given the proper medical attention, and the teachers provided to them were poorly trained. The Dawes Act was a negative thing in Native American life.

Many immigrants expected to find the streets paved with gold in America, but found that city conditions were terrible. Diseases the cholera, malaria, tuberculosis, and typhoid were common. Tenements, which were cheap places to live, were extremely overcrowded and unsanitary. Crime flourished in the cities. The horrible living conditions in the cities made living in America a negative experience for immigrants.

Life was especially difficult for Asian immigrants. Americans made fun of the Chinese hair and dress, and gave them the name 'coolies'. Japanese immigrants were dubbed "The Yellow Peril". Because the Chinese were good workers who were willing to work for less, American workers complained...