Occupations

During its early years as an independent nation nearly all Americans make their living as farmers, in the tradition set by Thomas Jefferson and his followers. That, however, is changing by around 1840 as the diverse, industrialized economic vision laid out by Alexander Hamilton takes hold, especially in the North.

Domestic manufacturing develops; infrastructure supports interstate commerce; sizable urban centers attract more residents or commuters; and a host of new occupations materialize.

These new jobs are wide ranging in content and pay.

At the lower end of the spectrum are “unskilled workers,” such as day laborers, longshoremen and draymen, and factory workers, who rely on muscle power, and are hired or laid off at the whim of their employers. Their jobs are always threatened, especially by immigrants who may be willing to work for lower wages.

Next comes the new and burgeoning “urban middle class,” working independently or as employees of an established business. Included here are “artisans” who craft functional or decorative goods, from clothing to furniture, household items to jewelry. Others are blacksmiths or carpenters, firemen or trained machinists. Many rely on “brainwork” to succeed as newspapermen, authors, accountants, bank tellers and the like. A few even become entertainers in theaters or circuses.

The next rung up are “professionals,” such as doctors, lawyers, judges, clergymen, engineers, professors and financiers – who tend to acquire unique skills through higher education, then sell this know-how on a pay for service basis to clients in need of their help. Because of their knowledge, people in these “white collar” jobs retain a high level of independence, often “working for themselves” as entrepreneurs. In turn both their incomes and prestige tend to be higher than all but the 2% elite “owner classes,” the southern landed gentry planters and the northern venture capitalists.

The breadth of jobs available varies by the size and geographic location of any given town or city. But in major cities like New York or Philadelphia, the list of occupations is quite amazing.

14.0 America’s Emerging Occupations Circa 1840

Another new economic phenomena is the rise of women working away from their farms. One example being the so-called “Lowell Girls” who labor in the textile factories in Massachusetts.

The labor here is strenuous. A typical shift for “Lowell girls” runs from 5AM to 7PM on a production line consisting of 80 workers, two male overseers, and the non-stop racket of spinning and weaving machines and air filled with cotton and cloth detritus.

Each woman works about 70 hours a week and are paid about 5 cents per hour, or around $3 per week – a decent wage at the time, albeit less than their male counterparts.

It is not until the 1850 and 1860 Censuses that the government makes its first attempt at ask citizens about their occupations and wealth. How accurate their responses to the questions are is anyone’s guess.