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These are "breaker boys" at the turn of the last century that were sons of European immigrants, they are picking out rock from coal. These would be the youngest workers in a mining operation considered too small to work in a mine. The kid in the center with his back to the camera has to be 5 or 6 based on his size? Note the stick in the overseer's hand.
Slaves were considered too valuable to waste on many early projects like the Erie Canal. So, it was dug mostly by Irish and German immigrants, and thousands of them died in the process.
A dead Irishman could be replaced in seconds at no cost, while a dead African slave meant somebody was out some serious coin.
edit: oops, you beat me to it there, coalman, lol.
Maybe all the Irish, the Chinese and some eastern Europeans should come out in horde demanding for the whole world since they basically built the continental railroad and been treated like **** back then???? No they moved on and learned and work hard for it and be successful.
Exactly, while freedom is more important poor white immigrants were treated far worse than most slaves because they were considered expendable. They weren't property and there is no capital investment in them.
While you can argue white immigrants enjoyed freedom the fact of the matter is they had to work under some very hard conditions or die hence the reason so many kids were employed in the mines. In these mining towns the mining company owned everything; housing, the stores, the land. They were paid enough wages to just keep them in perpetual debt. The common story is the man of the house dies in a mining accident and the widow finds him on the front porch of the company owned house with an eviction notice and a final bill from the company store.
Slaves were considered too valuable to waste on many early projects like the Erie Canal. So, it was dug mostly by Irish and German immigrants, and thousands of them died in the process.
Another case of making it up as we go...
Slavery was abolished in New York in 1799. Construction on the canal began in 1817.
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