Abstract

This article delves into the issue of public assistance and its role in the small community of Barre, Vermont, as it existed at the beginning of the century. The study looks specifically at the granite industry, which was a mainstay of the small town, and the different groups, American, Canadian as well as several ethnic minorities, which participated in this industry and their need and reliance on public assistance. The study focuses on the reasons why families and inviduals came to be on the public assistances rolls, including unsafe working conditions, ill health, and irregular work cycles. The study demonstrates, on a very small scale, a demographic history of poverty.

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