Working and living conditions in the 1920s for immigrants were very rough. They are just coming out of the progressive era where muckrakers showed all of the problems immigrants face. Many lives in tenements in crowded cities and were in areas with immigrants from the same region. They often worked very long hours in factories for very little pay. The cities they lived in were very unsanitary and there were often 15 to 20 people living in one room (tenement).
