Chapter 15, Student Web Activities, The American Vision, Glencoe, 2003

Social Studies, The American Republic Since 1877

Chapter 15: Urban America, 1865–1896
"Tenement Life"

Introduction
As you learned in this chapter, millions of immigrants from Europe poured into American cities looking for a new life in a nation full of promise. After days aboard crowded steamships, passengers usually disembarked in New York Harbor. Many immigrants settled in the nation's cities, and most ended up residing in tenements—multi-family dwellings designed to accommodate the cities' surging populations. Tenements were the most affordable urban housing, and they offered many immigrants the chance to make a home in the city. This Web site tells the story of a tenement at 97 Orchard Street in New York City. Opened in 1864, 97 Orchard Street became home to over 7000 immigrants from 20 different countries.

Destination Title: The Lower East Side Tenement Museum

Note: Clicking on the link above will launch a new browser window.
Need help using your browser for this activity? Click here for tips.

Directions
Start at The Lower East Side Tenement Museum Web site.

Under "Features" on the left, click on Virtual Tour.
Read through the introduction, and then browse through the site, taking notes as you go. Be sure to view the photos of the different rooms of the apartments in the tenement.

Read through the information, and then answer the following questions.

1. Describe the neighborhood and the living conditions at 97 Orchard Street in the 1870s.

2. Describe the layout and interiors of the apartments in the tenement.

3. What was the most common path for single women, including Mrs. Gumpertz, in the late 1800s, and why?

4. Describe how many immigrant children helped their families.

5. Imagine that it is 1876, and you are a newspaper reporter who is preparing a report on the status of immigrants in New York City. Mrs. Gumpertz has agreed to give you an interview. On a separate sheet of paper, write a set of questions for the interview and the responses that you imagine she will provide.