The Anatomy of Poverty: The Condition of the Working Class in Montreal, 1897-1929

This book is considered a continuation of Herbert B. Ames' The City Below the Hill (1897). The author examines the economic and social conditions of Montreal workers during a period which is commonly regarded as a time of the city’s industrial expansion and prosperity. What he concludes is that Montreal's industrial expansion during this period was heavily dependent on jobs requiring unskilled labour, often using women and children, which offered low wages to workers. Combined with a port that was closed for four months of the year due to weather, the author maintains that the majority of the city's population suffered low wages, frequent unemployment, poor housing and high mortality rates, especially among the very young.

Toronto, ON

McClelland and Stewart

1974

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