Crossroads: High School Curriculum
Unit IX: Boom and Bust, 1921-1933

"Saloons and the Burden Iron Works"

Lesson 2

"Saloons and the Burden Iron Works"

Directions: Read the following brief statement and be prepared to answer the questions that follow in class discussion.

When the Burden Iron Works, Troy, New York, was in full production in the early 1900s, it provided steady employment in low-level laboring jobs for the many immigrants who had moved into the city seeking a new and better way of life. The jobs these men filled required very few skills but demanded strong bodies and physical endurance. Knowing little English or having strong ethnic cultural roots with fellow immigrants, the laborers found comfort in coming together following each work day for a little relaxation and friendly conversation. Businessmen responded to this opportunity by opening at least four saloons between the railroad tracks supplying the mills and Burden Avenue, a distance of less than 200 yards. [Refer to the map of Troy 1836 for a reference to this area.] Each day the Irish, Poles, Italians, Germans, Lithuanians, and other immigrant workers wearily entered their favorite saloons to have "a few rounds with the boys" before going home. On many days, some of these workers would not make it home under their own power. An equal number ended by having no real home to return to, because of disruption of family life due to excessive dilution of wages. Other workers would be unable to work at full capacity for days afterward, some being too ill to work at all.

1. What does the above tell us about life of the laborer in cities in the early 1900s?

2. How does the above passage suggest that alcohol consumption affected the laboring class more than the upper and middle classes?

3. What in the above passage suggests reasons for the enactment of Prohibition?

4. What in the above passage suggests why Prohibition would be opposed in most urban areas?