Difference between revisions of "Week 15 Questions/Comments"
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The piece by Isabel Eaton in response to black servants in Philadelphia was very interesting. At first I read the piece without taking in the context of where this was occurring, which was not a southern city, but a northern city. We discussed some in class about the difficulty blacks faced in the South trying to find jobs, particularly with their skills focused mostly on agriculture, but I had not given it much thought for northern cities. Eaton touched on the idea that many white women chose other white women over domestic servants, which is a practice that makes sense in the post Civil War South, but what factors influenced white women’s decisions to not hire blacks in the North? Was it purely racism? Bitterness in the post war era? I would think white women could pay black women less, so in a market where supply and demand is crucial, white women could take advantage of high numbers of domestic servants to obtain high quality service for low prices. Was this not the case? Is there evidence of the same practices in other large, northern cities? -Mary Beth Dillane | The piece by Isabel Eaton in response to black servants in Philadelphia was very interesting. At first I read the piece without taking in the context of where this was occurring, which was not a southern city, but a northern city. We discussed some in class about the difficulty blacks faced in the South trying to find jobs, particularly with their skills focused mostly on agriculture, but I had not given it much thought for northern cities. Eaton touched on the idea that many white women chose other white women over domestic servants, which is a practice that makes sense in the post Civil War South, but what factors influenced white women’s decisions to not hire blacks in the North? Was it purely racism? Bitterness in the post war era? I would think white women could pay black women less, so in a market where supply and demand is crucial, white women could take advantage of high numbers of domestic servants to obtain high quality service for low prices. Was this not the case? Is there evidence of the same practices in other large, northern cities? -Mary Beth Dillane | ||
| − | In “Objections to Domestic Service” by Lucy Salmon it’s interesting to read the personal reasons many women had for disliking their jobs as domestic servants and I agree with Vanessa’s comment that her survey results could be used to persuade young women from going into any type of servant employment. Lucy Salmon may have felt that domestic servitude was beneath women and they should | + | In “Objections to Domestic Service” by Lucy Salmon it’s interesting to read the personal reasons many women had for disliking their jobs as domestic servants and I agree with Vanessa’s comment that her survey results could be used to persuade young women from going into any type of servant employment. Lucy Salmon may have felt that domestic servitude was beneath women and they should pursue other occupations that have more advantages including: opportunities for promotion, regular working hours, and personal independence.-Caitlin Quinn |
