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Document 11 – |
Letter from James Brooks to the Canal
Commissioners |
February 22, 1838 |
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Transcription Juliet 22d. Feb. 1838
To the commissioners of the |
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Messrs. Since the Commission of the outrages by the Irish at my work on the Canal on the 19th & 20th Inst. and the course that has been pursued in relation to the matter, I conceive that it would be unsafe for me at this time to go upon my work. And if it were safe for me to go upon my work I am unable at present to do so, on account of the injury received from the Irish. I have a large amount of property on and about my works, which is exposed to the rapacity of the Irish, and I have no men who can, or who dare to take measures to preserve my property. The men who were arrested are now at liberty, and under existing circumstances I conceive it to be my duty to apply to you, gentlemen, to take such measures as you in your wisdom may think proper to preserve my property on the Canal and to restore order My Foreman is Dennis D. Kelly, living at Hay Town As soon as I am able to ride I shall be at Lock Port to see you Very respectfully your obt. servt. James Brooks |
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Canal construction did not begin in earnest until 1837. The canal commissioners had to solicit bids for work on the various portions of the ninety-six mile waterway. Contractors submitting the lowest bids generally were awarded jobs. Then equipment had to be brought to the line and workers hired. Labor was scarce in northeastern Illinois at this time and consequently advertisements touting high wages were placed in newspapers sold and on handbills distributed in eastern cities and overseas, especially in Ireland where most spoke English and poverty was endemic.
Canal laborers included white Americans, Native Americans, black slaves, German and English immigrants, and French Canadians, but mainly Irish immigrants. Most of the Irish were Catholic, unskilled, not married, and poor. Working conditions were harsh. The workday was from sunup to sundown which in the summer time could be from 4:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. Breaks were short and infrequent. When the canal was hand dug, shovels lifted the earth or stone into wheelbarrows which had to be pushed up awkward planks and beyond towpaths. When sections passing through rock had to be blasted out, injuries and even deaths were common due to primitive explosion techniques and few safety standards. Disease was common with malaria being the chief scourge. Housing consisted mostly of rough shanties with earthen floors and numerous occupants. Insects and mud made life all the more unpleasant. Construction sites usually were far away from any proper settlements. Food often was barely tolerable. The average laborer earned sixteen to twenty dollars a month in 1838 with his food and shelter often supplied by the employing contractor and deducted from that amount. When workers were paid their wages with bank notes worth less than their face value in the winter of 1838, they rioted.
When a plat for Juliet first was recorded in 1834 it carried the name of its founder’s daughter, Juliet Campbell. An act of the General Assembly changed it to Joliet in 1845.
What kind of work was James Brooks engaged in?
Who was working for him?
What injury had the Irish caused James Brooks?
Why would one have emigrated from Ireland around 1838?
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