Primary Source Worksheet

Short CourseAmerican Business History

History N100, Summer 2017
University of California, Berkeley
Daniel Robert

WORKSHEET DUE DATE: Sunday, July 16, 2017 at 7:00 pm.

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and then click Submit Assignment.

Please save your project with the following format: Last name, first name Title. For example:
Smythe, Joan Prospectus for How Suburbia Saved Capitalism.

PERCENT OF FINAL GRADE: 10%

Name (full name and any name you prefer to be called)

Christopher Barry (CJ)

Locate a primary source from before 1970 that relates in some way to the history of American
business, economy, or labor. This should be something you find one of the historical archives
listed in the source guide (not by googling primary source).

1. Provide the correct citation for your source using the Chicago Manual of Style. To learn how
to cite sources, reference the Chicago Manual of Style online. Click, Chicago Manual of Style
at the top of the website. Browse down to Part Three: Documentation and click on
Documentation I: Notes and Bibliography. Scroll through chapter 14 to see how to cite various
types of sources.

"Contract for Negro Slaves, December 23, 1853" Railroads and the Making of Modern
America . Accessed July 16, 2017.
http://railroads.unl.edu/documents/view_document.php?rends%5B0%5D=contract&topics%5
B0%5D=Crime%2FViolence&topics%5B1%5D=Labor&yearStart=&yearStop=&keyword=&pu
blication=&id=rail.sla.0001.

2. Describe your source. What kind of document is it? Is it printed or handwritten? Bound? How
is it organized? (150-200 words)
 The source is a collection of three handwritten documents. The sources have been been
photographed, and underneath each photograph is a transcription from the original
document into a written form to make it easier for the audience to read. The document
begins with an announcement of the date and the parties who are a part of the contract.
It then goes into the conditions of the contract, mainly the supply of labor, and the quality
of the labor, and the pay that the labor would receive. If the details of the contract are
fully honored, then the private parties are to receive a large sum. Finally, the contract is
witnessed and signed by all present parties.

3. Who produced this source and why? What motivated the producer? You may want to
consider a variety of producers including an author, editor, publisher, photographer,
organization, or government. If you do not know who produced the source, can you learn
anything about their likely background from the document? (150-200 words)

The producers of the document are all the parties available and present at the signing of
the document, namely: the Board of Public Works, Claudius Crozet, the Engineer of the
Blue Ridge Railroad, and George A. Farrow & David Hansbrough. The motivation for the
contract is to clearly describe terms and payment for the completion of those terms in a
way that all expectations are clearly expressed and signed upon under the view of
witnesses. Im imagining that the contract had to explicitly state everything because it
was just another transaction of many that had been meant for the same purpose, mainly
building up railroad infrastructure, and the expectation of the individual laborer and the
overseeing independent contractor. -118

4. Who do you think was the intended audience for the source? Is it a private communication or
was it intended to circulate widely? How might it have circulated? (150-200 words)

I dont believe the document had much of a widespread audience. The audience that it
was intended for were primarily the selected groups and persons already mentioned.
However, since it was a contract between an individual party and the Board of Public
Works, it was surely available to the wider public body who, if they should so choose,
would be able to see the document. I would not imagine that it would be circulated. Im
sure that it was copied and filed at multiple government offices and copies would be kept
by the individual parties to ensure authenticity and trust among the parties.

5. What else do you find interesting or unusual about this source? You may want to explain why
you think the source sheds light on some aspect of American capitalism. (150-200 words)

I found the value of labor to be very interesting. First how they valued the labor, in the
contract the value of a black laborer is valued at the rate of $1.12 per day and the value
of the superintendents was $35 per month or $1.15 per day. I found that to be
interesting. I would have figured the difference would have been much wider, but the
difference in money also doesnt comment on the difference in working conditions, so
 there is that to be considered. Also, I think it should be noted that the superintendents in
the contract are specified as having to be white. This is evidence for the division of race
back in that time and the opportunities afforded to each race.

6. What kinds of questions about the past could this source (or a collection of sources like this)
help us to answer? Be creative and provide at least three distinct questions. (150-200 words)

It would serve as snapshot in time. We could discern the value of labor for that of a
black man for a day's work, the value of labor of a white overseer, and the value of
individual parties that are able to secure government contracts to oversee this
construction. The question this could answer would be: What was the value of labor
during this time?
We could also look at the clause in the contract that covered bodily harm to the workers
in the case of an accident and to see how it was handled. So in this case the question
would be: Were black laborers cared for after workplace injuries?
Also, it goes over the structure of a government contract and the terms that would most
likely be present in any other contract with another independent party during this time.
The question would be: How were contracts structured for labor during the expansion of
the railroad?

Please turn in a transcript or copy of your source with your worksheet! If you cannot provide a
copy, please explain why not.