Featured:
Allergies
Grilling Guide
eHow Now Blog

Careers in the 1700s

The 1700s saw numerous societal shifts across the course of the century. America began as a loose confederacy of colonies and in the latter half of the century experienced both the American Revolution and the very beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. The way a person earned his or her livelihood changed dramatically by 1800 as society shifted from a mainly agricultural society with an artisan class to a factory-based society.

  1. Agrarian Trades

    • Through the early and middle parts of the 1700s, most Americans were involved with careers that focused on working the land to provide food or other goods. This was especially true of the southern colonies where the land was much more fertile than in the Northeast. Popular cash crops grown by farmers include wheat, corn, tobacco and, mostly in the South, cotton. Although New England soil could be very harsh and non-conducive to growing a surplus for sale, farming was a viable trade in many parts of New York and areas southward. In the North, trapping and fur trading took on a greater role and cities such as Boston, Philadelphia and New York City were home to thriving fur trading markets.

    Artisans

    • Colonial America was home to a multitude of artisans with various trade skills. Eighteenth-century artisan trades in America included brick making, cabinet making, weaving, basket making, and publishing. Skillled tradesmen such as shoemakers, silversmiths, blacksmiths, cooks, milliners -- who made clothes -- and coopers -- who created barrel casks for storing any large quantity of goods or other material -- worked in shops and businesses around the country.

      In the 1700s, the manufacturing chain was much less complicated than it is today; most materials that you purchased from artisans were manufactured locally, not imported from a foreign country. Artisans were most often paid by the piece rather than by the day, so production was often less focused on creativity and logistical improvement and more concerned with producing enough pieces to put food on the table.

    Apprenticeship

    • Once a boy had begun to reach what his family considered to be the end of his childhood in the 1700s, about 8 to 10 years old, he was apprenticed out to a master artisan who could teach him a lucrative trade in order to make money. Often, the apprentice period would last for about seven years. Although they were not in charge of production, the apprentice would learn various tasks and help produce several pieces for the master artisan. Instead of pay, an apprentice received room and board. The apprentice was often barred from being able to go home. After completing the seven-year apprenticeship, the apprentice could leave the master artisan's home and open up his own business as an artisan.

      A woman's apprenticeship, if it can be thought of as such, was in the home. From an early age, girls focused on sewing, especially for purposes of knitting and fixing clothes, as well as cooking and other trades associated with home life. The little reading and arithmetic they were taught focused on Bible study and household economy, respectively.

    Industrial Revolution

    • The Industrial Revolution began by the end of the 1700s. The manufacturing processes that increased productivity for factories often could not be implemented on a smaller scale by master artisans, and instead of learning trades many men began to enter into factory work. Although scientific management and the rise of the assembly line increased productivity, pay was greatly reduced for workers and the quality of life among career factory workers dropped significantly.

Related Searches:

References

Resources

Comments

You May Also Like

Related Ads

thumbnail
Featured