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The United States in the 1870's to the 1900's was a very harsh place for an orphan. Children were left homeless and had no hope to survive. They had to dream in boxes on the street in Hell's Kitchen. They dreamt of a warm bed and a nice meal waiting on the table. They dreamed of having money that would give them power to enjoy everything else in life. The children at least wanted to get out of Hell's Kitchen to live on Mott Street. Hell's Kitchen is beneath the poor and Mott Street is the next best thing. Most children all had intuitive to start a little job from boot blacking to selling news papers. Some were also thieves. They all had to find some way to fulfill their stomachs. There were children who had dreams of something more. Some wanted to do something special with their lives to be respected by others. The novel Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger was an explanation of how a poor white native born male can go from Hell's Kitchen to Middle class with individual effort and inner qualities. Alger made the character, Ragged Dick, who was a very honest