Rural Cities In The Late 1800's

368 Words2 Pages
Before the late 1800’s, there were only rural low populated areas throughout the United States. As time went on and as the country kept growing, there became more demand for living space and supplies. As a result of these factors, along with many more, cities came into existence. Cities became the heartbeat of the United States very quickly. There were many factors that led to the massive swelling of cities. One of the main reasons was opportunity. Many families from rural areas moved to cities in order to create a better life for themselves. Also many immigrants moved from their countries just to find jobs. In the rural areas of the U.S. and even in other countries there was only so much you could do, but in the city the sky was the limit.…show more content…
Overpopulation was the main problem in the city. This caused a portion of the population to be very poor, and it created “slums”. Slums were parts of the city where the poor lived. The people who lived in these slums had very bad diets which made them vulnerable to epidemics. Cholera, Typhoid, Yellow Fever, and Tuberculosis killed thousands. Children were most vulnerable to these diseases. Most children born in the cities in 1890 did not make it to their first birthday. The cities installed new sewage and water purification systems that helped these epidemics and poor living conditions. The modern toilet was invented in the early 20th century. Up until then, people in the cities used water closets and communal privies. Cities should have done more to correct these problems. They could have made a central water system sooner that could have been used throughout the city. If they would have done so, look how many people could have been
Open Document