Nature's Aristocracy: A Plea for the Oppressed

Table of Contents

Contents chapter 1. Nature’s Aristocracy 11 Shall I Write?—Unnatural State of Society.— Needed Reconstruction.—Nature’s Aristocracy. —Her Impartiality.—The Battle of Genius. chapter 2. The Beggars 16 Little Lizzie.—Professional Beggars.—Begging as a Business.—Success in Life.—Marrying a Beggar for Money.—An Empress in Rags.—Little Applicants for Food.—“Little Sister’s real cold.”—The Little Boy’s Heroism. chapter 3. One Grade above the Beggars 24 Homes of the Poor.—Why They Are Wretched.—Educated Women in Distress.—The Old Apple-Woman.—The Soldier’s Wife.—Comfort and Plenty in Exchange for Virtue.—Generosity of a Tailoress.—“Freddie and Mamma won’t cry, will they, Mamma?”—The Sailor’s Last Dollar. chapter 4. Crime and Nobility 36 Able Criminals.—Fall of Companions.—Wellie’s Fate. —Martha the Actress.—The Able Gambler.— Loss of Caste.—A Writer in the House of Correction. —She Is Not Worth Saving.—“The Prisoner’s Friend.” —Who Is Responsible for Crime. chapter 5. Newsboys and Bootblacks 48 Success in Life.—Their Genius and Education.— Newsboys’ “Home.”—Dividing the Profits. —You May Borrow, but You Shall Never Pay. chapter 6. Shop-Girls 52 Who Are Shop-Girls.—Their Condition.—The Little “Cash-Girl.”—Female Clerks.—Their Trials.— What Society Owes Them.—The Tailor-Shops.—Acts of Kindness.—Ability of the Shop Hands. chapter 7. Journeymen Tailors 66 The Troubles of a Tailor.—How Custom Coats Are Made.— Too Much Work, or Too Much Leisure.—Their Pay.— Intellectual Ability.—Oppressive Foremen.—Piece-Makers. —How They Grind the Face of the Poor. chapter 8. Servant-Girls 73 Why American Girls Prefer the Shops and Factories. —Their Taste and Refinement.—Incidents in Kitchen Life.— The Old Cook.—The Nurse.—The Waiter.—Anecdotes, &c. chapter 9. Then and Now of Factory Life 87 Spirit of the Age.—Why Servants Are Impudent.—The First Manufacturers.—Treatment of Operatives.—The FactoryGirls .—The Boarding-Houses.—The Golden Age of Factory Life.—The First Factories in New England.—Growth of the System.—Incorporation.—The Factories of England. —The Ten-Hour Bill.—John Bright.—Americans Descending and the English Ascending.—The Operatives Now in American Employ.—History of a Factory Which Prospered with the “Old School” and Failed with the “New.” chapter 10. How Cotton Is Manufactured —Factory Friendships 103 Brotherly Affection.—The Destitute Wife. —The Widow’s Trial.—The Country Girl and the Actress.—Drunken Pickard and Bob. chapter 11. Among the “Strikers” 117 Character of “Strikers.”—Homes of Workmen.— Life of a Factory Girl.—Of Factory Men.—Tailors’ and Telegraph Strikes.—The “Dover Strike.”— Incidents of Factory Life, &c. chapter 12. Charitable Institutions 142 What Is Charity?—Wages According to the Profits.— The Lawrence Calamity.—Charity and Small Wages. —Cutting Down the Pay of Operatives to Make Great Donations.—Temporary Relief Not a Permanent Cure.—“Homes.”—Their Uses and Abuses.—How a “Soldiers’ Home” Was Supported.—Incidents, &c. chapter 13. Natural and Unnatural Aristocrats 162 Representatives of Nature.—Who Save the Communities. —Examples of Nobility.—Names of Prominent American Aristocrats.—The Darker Side of the Picture.—Anecdotes of Unnatural Aristocracy. —No Peace with Ill-Gotten Gains. chapter 14. Labor Reform 183 Lack of Thought.—How Politicians Lead the People. —The Lessons of the War.—Organization of a Labor Reform Party.—No Leaders.—What the Laborers Demand.—Less Hours.—The Respect of Thinking Men.—Just Legislation. chapter 15. Woman’s Suffrage 194 Woman’s Rights.—Woman’s Sphere.—Using the Talents Which God Gave Her.—History of the Suffrage Movement in America.—Margaret Fuller.—Why the Rich Do Not Want the Ballot.—Who Need It.—Conclusion. ...