Easier, sure. Not having a backstop means failure == death. Which isn't for the faint of heart, but that's the story of almost every Americans lineage at some point in the past. It takes a bit of luck, but rarely is it more luck than nose to the grindstone effort.
My anecdotes:
I have one great-great-grandfather who thought he had an office job in British Columbia, but by the time he sailed from England and crossed the continent the company had folded. But his family was already on their way, so he started working every mining job he could, and invested every spare pence he had into real estate. His sons did the same.
My paternal great-grandfather came over from Italy, got harassed out of NYC by the Irish, bought a small farm in Oklahoma, and his children did the same.
Of course it's recoverable. If you're under 35 you can join the miliary as well. There are options. Not glamorous, but survivable. Better to have tried and failed than to never have tried.
But when you're an Italian who can't speak English or out west in the late 1800s, it was a case of with your shield or on it.
My anecdotes:
I have one great-great-grandfather who thought he had an office job in British Columbia, but by the time he sailed from England and crossed the continent the company had folded. But his family was already on their way, so he started working every mining job he could, and invested every spare pence he had into real estate. His sons did the same.
My paternal great-grandfather came over from Italy, got harassed out of NYC by the Irish, bought a small farm in Oklahoma, and his children did the same.