If you order your research paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on The Hardships of American Life. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality The Hardships of American Life paper right on time.
Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in The Hardships of American Life, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your The Hardships of American Life paper at affordable prices!
Living the American life during the 1870s was not an easy thing to do. Foreigners, freed slaves and immigrants were all desperately trying to better their lives. Although this was the beginning of industrialization in the United States, people, especially immigrants and African Americans found it rather difficult to be accepted into society. The white men had it a bit easier than others but they were not much better off.This essay aims to compare the lives of a woman Irish immigrant, an African American, and a white railroad clerk's lives in the 1870s and in 114.
Many Irish found the need to come to America in the late 1th century. Some were trying to escape English rule while others hoped to better their lives in America. Mary O'Flannagan came to New York City from Ireland in 1870 at the age of twenty. She came to America in hopes of economic survival. A friend's letter inspired Mary to take the journey. The letter spoke of how women in America could marry for love and not money. The letter also said that if a woman were to save half of her earnings for ten years, she herself could be rich. When Mary first stepped off the boat she was a frail young women. She spoke mostly Gaelic and had hoped to find work. Luckily for her many Irish women were getting involved in the maid business. She found a family willing to take house her, feed her and pay her minimal wages until she learned her chores better. Her chores included cooking, cleaning and tending to the children.
After a few months, Mary got the hang of what she was doing as was paid about $ a week plus food and shelter.She loved her host family's children as if they were her own. Knowing that Mary would never return home to Ireland she thought she must learn how to become an American woman and she felt that living in the home of one was the best way to learn. The children were very found of Mary but the Mr. And Mrs. Were a different story. They gave Mary what she needed but were not very friendly toward her. They made sure she knew that she was an outsider to the family. She was made to wear and apron and a cap a sign of inferiority. Although not treated as she wished to be, Mary was glad she had a home and a fairly easy life compared to some girls she knew that were working in a factory.
On the plantations in the south, many African Americans told stories about traveling north. Many did not tell their employers that they were leaving. Every African American who could afford a train ticket bought one. Those who could not would tell their employers that they stayed behind because they were faithful while secretly hoping to get a little extra money so they too could have a better life up north. Jeremiah Taylor was one of these men. Being only twenty years old and working on a plantation in Georgia for very small wages did not please him. Some of the other men who worked with him told stories at the campfire at night of men who made forty cents an hour. Jeremiah could not believe what he was hearing. He knew he had to go up north and find a better job. He swore to himself that he would save every penny until he had enough to travel north. He only made about $1.40 a day so he knew it would take quite a bit of time to save the money. Write your The Hardships of American Life research paper
Jeremiah often looked at the papers that some African Americans would sneak onto the plantations. They advertised molding jobs where you could make $4.50 a day. Some other jobs included work in a steel mill and warehouse work. Jeremiah waited for a few months saving every penny he could so that he would be able to travel north. He watched his friends leave and wished more than anything that he could afford to go with them. To Jeremiah's surprise, a friend of his contacted him from Newark New Jersey telling him of a job that he found him up north. It pays $.75 per day and you get a rent-free room to live in. You will be dying clothes in a factory, Jeremiah was told. The job starts in three days his friend had told him. Jeremiah told his friend he could not take the job because he still could not afford a train ticket. His friend forget to tell him the best part of the offer. The company pays for travel to get there.Jeremiah was so excited he could hardly keep quite while sneaking off to the train station that night. He waited all day to board one of the trains packed with people. Finally, Jeremiah got to board his train in the early evening and headed off to start his new life. He knew it was not a great job and that there were many people out there better off then him but he was so happy to be away from the plantations after twenty years and to finally be on his on. His boss was pretty friendly and his wages were much better than they were at the plantation in Georgia. He even got to register to vote. His life was on the fast track up and he loved every minute of it.
Most white men in the 1870s had an easier time finding work than colored people or immigrants. Joe Smith a twenty-year-old railroad worker was one of these people. He lived in Ohio. Joe found his job easily since there was such a rapid growth for railroads. Railroads were a cheaper easier way to carry goods around the country. Although Joe had an easy time finding work that did not mean that his work was any easier. He worked ten or more hours a day and he worked six days a week. He lived in the railroad camps next to the tracks that they were currently building. His main complaint was that he wanted shorter hours. When news came about of the Knight of Labor Union, Joe and his fellow workers decided to join in hopes of getting shorter hours and better working conditions. The men of this union decided to strike for better pay and shorter hours. They decided to strike and even stopped the strike relief workers from coming in.
These three people did pretty well for themselves during that time. Especially Jeremiah and Mary. Not many African Americans or immigrants found work at all or if they did it was often a gruesome labor jobs. These people can be seen as lucky during that time. Their lives changed greatly by 114. They all had husbands or wives and families of their own.
Mary she had two daughters. They both were taught to read and write in English. They were determined to learn because they did not want to be anyone's servant. Her daughters in 114 were twenty-one and twenty-four. The twenty four year old was an elementary school teacher and the other was training to become a nurse. Mary eventually stopped working as a maid and got a job as a secretary for a big company in her neighborhood. Her husband was a factory worker making decent wages.
Jeremiah to got married and had children. He was happy because his children went to the same school as whites and discrimination was mild near their home. He left his job in the dying factory to work in the packing business because he found out about a black labor union there. He was still not rich but much happier than he could have ever been if he had stayed on the plantation. Everything he owned he worked hard work and appreciated.
Joe left his job to work to work under Andrew Carnegie in the steel industry.He was making a good living and it showed. He bought a nice house married a pretty wife and had two children. Times were hard for him during the constant striking periods and that is why he eventually left the railroad business and went to work for Carnegie. He knew Carnegie was rich and wanted to get his hands on a bit of Carnegie's money and that's exactly what he did.
Many people were not as fortunate as Mary, Jeremiah, and Joe. Times were very tough for everyone regardless of race or citizenship. These are just a few accounts of life on the better side. To tell life on the worse side would take forever. People worked in very dangerous jobs where they lost body parts or became very ill. Some got paid so little that it was almost impossible to survive. Others with semi decent jobs were replaced for people who would work for lower wages. Luckily for these three they made it.
Please note that this sample paper on The Hardships of American Life is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on The Hardships of American Life, we are here to assist you. Your persuasive essay on The Hardships of American Life will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.
Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!