Mark Twain

     Mark Twain (a.k.a Samuel Clemens) was a famous author. He wrote 28 books. Some of which were "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", and "Life in Mississippi". He was born as Samuel Clemons, from Jane and John Clemens, but became famous and known with the name Mark Twain. At 17, he became a river pilot which is where the name Mark Twain originated (Mark Twain means "safe to navigate).

      Mark Twain and Charles Warner  coauthored a novel about American politics and society called "The Gilded Age". Because of the novel, the era became known as the Gilded Age. Calling it this was like sounding off an alarm. Gilded means gold on the outside but cheap on the inside. A Gilded Age would appear clean and perfect, but if you are to look deeper, you would find corruption, poverty, crime, and great disparities in wealth between the rich and the poor, which was what Twain and Warner sought to uncover in America.

       This era was a time of great cultural activity. Industrialism and urbanization changed and altered the way Americans looked at themselves and their society. The changes gave rise to new values,new forms of entertainment, new art, new inventions, and a whole new lifestyle and era.

Sources ~ the book.

                 Google images.

                 

Hiring Workers/dealing w/workers

  Hiring workers- Chinese peasants from the Canton Province began arriving on California's shores in 1850, being pushed by poverty and overpopulation from their homeland. In early 1865 the Central Pacific had work enough for 4,000 men. However, a contractor named Charles Crocker barely managed to hold onto 800 laborers at any given time. Most of the early railroad workers were Irish immigrants. Because railroad work was hard, and management was chaotic, high attrition rates occurred. Because of prejudice thoughts/beliefs, some Central Pacific officials believed that Irishmen were inclined to spend their wages on liquor, and that the Chinese were also unreliable. Yet, due to the shortage of willing workers, Crocker suggested that reconsideration be given to hiring Chinese.  
        When a group of Irish laborers agitated over wages, Crocker told Strobridge (a foreman) to recruit some Chinese in their place.  Instantly, the Irishmen abandoned their dispute, fearing the competition might make them lose their jobs. Sensing that fear of competition hoping it might motivate the men, Strobridge grudgingly agreed to hire 50 Chinese men as wagon-fillers. The Chinese work ethic impressed him so he hired more Chinese workers for more difficult tasks. Soon, labor recruiters were all over California, and Crocker hired companies to advertise the work in China. Several thousand Chinese men had signed on and the number rose to a high of 12,000 in 1868, comprising at least 80% of the Central Pacific workforce.  The Chinese workers were willing and well-behaved. Crocker and Strobridge made clear to the Irishmen that they could work alongside the Chinese crews or be replaced by them.
         The Chinese teams were organized into groups of 20 under one white foreman. Initially, Chinese employees received wages of $27 and then $30 a month, minus the cost of food and board. In contrast, Irishmen were paid $35 per month with board provided.



Managing workers- Chinese workers left their grading work and went back to their camp. Construction chief James Harvey Strobridge lit into the men, but this produced no effect. The workers demanded $40 a month instead of $35. They requested a reduction in hours. A workday on the open Sierra lasted from dawn till dusk. Chinese laborers wanted to work no more than 10 hours daily. They also asked for shorter shifts in the cramped, dangerous tunnels. Charles Crocker called in leaders of the movement and promised them he'd stop work entirely before considering a single one of their demands. The men took his message back to the camps, but still the workers refused to budge. Two days later, workers struck all along the line, and raised their wage demands to $45 a month