The book The Other America described a hidden group of people living in poverty. Approximately how many did Harrington estimate lived in poverty?

• A. 25 million
• B. 60 million
• C. 40 to 50 million
• D. 100 million

Answer: (C)

Harrington’s point is about the scale of poverty in America. He argued that a substantial, hidden layer of poverty existed even in a prosperous era, estimating about 40 to 50 million Americans lived in poverty—roughly one in five people at the time. This figure is key because it shows poverty as a broad, persistent condition, not just a few isolated cases, which helps explain why the issue became a national priority and helped propel the policies of the 1960s. The description covers hardships like substandard housing, hunger, poor health, and unemployment across urban and rural areas, underscoring why many people saw poverty as a systemic problem. The other numbers don’t fit as well because they either understate the reach (under 40 million) or imply an unrealistically large share of the population (60 million or 100 million) for that period.