Who the American Worker Included

CHILDREN

Children who worked included orphans or children abandoned by their family's support.

Children worked as young as age six, with sometimes only one adult supervisor.

They earned less than $0.50 a day.

 

Children would work in cotton mills, coal mines, and as newspaper delivery boys.

Here we see the children arn't even tall enough to work at their stations as they stand on boxes to raise them up.

 Children were good employees for the coal mines of America. In this illustration it is easy to see that their small, flexible bodies were ideal for traveling in the small tunnels of the mine.

 

THE "NEW" vs "OLD" IMMIGRANT

The immigrants considered "New" at the turn of the nineteenth century included immigrants from Asia, Eastern Europe, and Southern Europe. The "new" immigrants typically got left with the work that no other American wanted to do. Employers welcomed the "new" immigrants, however, because they would work for less wages than the "old" and "skilled" American.

I don't care how much you pay me, I would not take this job.

"New" immigrants that came to the west coast from China were responsible for creating about 80% of the transcontinental railroad.

I found this political cartoon interesting. It shows the "skilled" and priveleged Americans with their "old" immigrant shadows behind them trying to stop the "new" immigrant from docking on their land.

To the left there is "The Men Who Built America" as the history channel tells viewers in their popular new series on TV. Then, to the right, are the actual men who built America. They are the ones holding the tools!

WOMEN

Women of the 19th century entered the work force employed in mills, factories, farming, domestic service, department stores, and as social reformers

Office work, such as being a secretary, was one of the few opportunities women had to use their literacy as a professional. Office work was preferred above all other occupations.

Women, like children, were not paid on an equal scale as men. They began to work towards their rights as citizens as the banner in this picture above asks for "Raises not Roses."

Race and ethinicity were big factors in determining a woman's carreer path. For example, white women were sought out more as secretaries, where black women were employed as domestic servants. Eventually, the domestic jobs became undesirable and were left to the "new" immigrants.