Critical Thinking 15-2 #5

In the late 19th century, a lot of people decided to move from rural areas and into cities.This affected urban society in various ways. The population in cities increased rapidly. Many of the people who moved to the city had different skills than the people who normally lived there. These things caused some problems in urban areas.
People who moved to the cities from the country were usually farmers. Farming technology had been improved, which helped some farmers, making their work easier. However, it also cost other farmers their jobs. Those who lost their jobs went to urban areas looking for any work they could get.
Many of these farmers were African Americans. They moved north and west to cities hoping to avoid oppression and racial violence. They were not always successful in this, but they were often able to find work. African American workers had different experiences that white workers, so they usually had to compete with immigrants for jobs.
Because of all these people moving into the cities, the population in such areas increased rapidly. Cities with high populations were subject to problems such as crime, overcrowded housing, and unsanitary living conditions. Work became hard to find, and many people became poor because of the competition for it. Reformers moved to end these problems eventually, but at the time, life was difficult in cities.