Steamboats played a major role in building 19th Century America. Hartford,
Connecticut residents would anxiously wait for the arrival
of the local Steamer which was normally stocked with goods
from around the nation and from the world over.
During the Civil War, able-bodied men were being drafted, so the demand
for steamboat workers ( deck hands, stevedores, firemen etc. ) was high.
Monthly wages for deckhands was $30, with stevedores raking in $35
and skilled firemen pocketing $40. But, after the war ended, the labor
supply became so plentiful that wages were slashed.
Over the next 15 years, steamboat workers earned 25 - 50 %
less than they had during the Civil War, which seemed to have been a trend.
In July of 1879, this pay decline ended when William R. Goodspeed,
agent for the Hartford Line, determined that flatboats would have to take
the steamboats' cargo to Hartford. This meant that the freight handlers'
work would double, since they had to unload each steamer and reload onto
the flat boats. When the Steamers reached Goodspeed's Landing, the agent
demanded that the workers sign written promises to do the extra work for
the same pay. But they refused and walked off the job.
Goodspeed responded by advertising for replacements and when this failed
he quickly offered the strikers their old jobs back for a 10% raise.
This had a trickle effect to the firemen ( who were not part of the strike )
and many other related employees of the company.
The strike of the 18 original men was so far reaching that soon the
New Haven line followed suit and then the Mystic Boat Company, etc. on
down. The reaction was as if they had used a telephone to communicate this
event nationwide. Within a couple of years, dock workers all over America
were getting pay raises, all stemming from Goodspeed's Landing incident.
This check is dated at the time of this action ( 1879 - 1881 ) with a vignette
of Goodspeed Centennial Harbor House ( built in 1876 ) with steamer in the
background. Besides the horse & buggy in front of the building there is also
a dog running by. These tan colored checks bear a 2¢ revenue
imprint an a non-hole punch cancel, all in very nice crisp condition.
Connecticut residents would anxiously wait for the arrival
of the local Steamer which was normally stocked with goods
from around the nation and from the world over.
During the Civil War, able-bodied men were being drafted, so the demand
for steamboat workers ( deck hands, stevedores, firemen etc. ) was high.
Monthly wages for deckhands was $30, with stevedores raking in $35
and skilled firemen pocketing $40. But, after the war ended, the labor
supply became so plentiful that wages were slashed.
Over the next 15 years, steamboat workers earned 25 - 50 %
less than they had during the Civil War, which seemed to have been a trend.
In July of 1879, this pay decline ended when William R. Goodspeed,
agent for the Hartford Line, determined that flatboats would have to take
the steamboats' cargo to Hartford. This meant that the freight handlers'
work would double, since they had to unload each steamer and reload onto
the flat boats. When the Steamers reached Goodspeed's Landing, the agent
demanded that the workers sign written promises to do the extra work for
the same pay. But they refused and walked off the job.
Goodspeed responded by advertising for replacements and when this failed
he quickly offered the strikers their old jobs back for a 10% raise.
This had a trickle effect to the firemen ( who were not part of the strike )
and many other related employees of the company.
The strike of the 18 original men was so far reaching that soon the
New Haven line followed suit and then the Mystic Boat Company, etc. on
down. The reaction was as if they had used a telephone to communicate this
event nationwide. Within a couple of years, dock workers all over America
were getting pay raises, all stemming from Goodspeed's Landing incident.
This check is dated at the time of this action ( 1879 - 1881 ) with a vignette
of Goodspeed Centennial Harbor House ( built in 1876 ) with steamer in the
background. Besides the horse & buggy in front of the building there is also
a dog running by. These tan colored checks bear a 2¢ revenue
imprint an a non-hole punch cancel, all in very nice crisp condition.
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