3 Chapter 2 Time to Go to Work

Chapter 2 Time to Go to Work Betsy's older sisters all had begun working when they were teenagers. In the early days of the American colonies, upholsterers made curtains, bedcovers, cushions, and pillows. They even made furniture, such as sofas and comfortable chairs. Some upholsterers also made flags. At this time, Philadelphia was a great place to be an upholsterer. Many of the richest people in the colonies lived there. They had money to spend, and they wanted their homes to be beautiful. They ordered fancy chairs, beautiful tablecloths, and sofas covered with soft velvet imported from Europe.

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Some of the workers at John Webster's shop made nothing but fringe and tassels to decorate curtains. The expert craftspeople stitched and sewed for hours to make the finest home furnishings. Mr. Webster had many helpers. Some were paid workers who had studied and worked their way into a full-time job. Others were apprentices. An apprentice is a person who is learning on the job. They were usually not paid much, if anything, but they hoped to learn enough to one day earn a full-time job. In 1764, when Betsy was twelve, she visited her sister at Mr. Webster's shop. When Webster saw Betsy's skill, he signed her on as an apprentice. In those days, it was not unusual for children to work outside their homes. Other girls worked in similar shops, or in kitchens or as housemaids. Boys were trained to be printers, carpenters, or sign painters, or to care for horses and carriages. Betsy worked six days a week. She gathered the materials the workers needed, including fabric, needles, and thread.

Sometimes she made deliveries to customers. And she became a better seamstress. She had a busy life in a busy city. In 1765, Great Britain passed a new tax on its American colonies. This was nothing new, as the colonists were all British subjects and

expected to be loyal to King George III. But this new tax made many colonists angry. The Stamp Act said that every piece of paper had to have a special stamp on it. Those stamps cost the colonists money. The money was sent back to England to support the king and the British army. Americans in Philadelphia, New York, and Boston held meetings and protests against the new taxes. Ordinary citizens like Betsy started paying attention to the speeches arguing against Great Britain's rules. In the end, Britain canceled the Stamp Act. But the American colonists were growing tired of sending more and more tax money to Great Britain. Over the next several years, Betsy continued working hard for Mr. Webster. The tension between the American colonies and England grew worse. But by 1773, Betsy was not paying as much attention to the politics of

her country. She had fallen in love with another shopworker named John Ross. There was only one problem: John Ross was not a Quaker. TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION WHEN COLONISTS GOT ANGRY BECAUSE OF THE STAMP ACT, THEY WERE NOT MAD ABOUT BEING TAXED. THEY EXPECTED TO PAY TAXES TO HELP RUN THEIR COLONY AND ENGLAND. BUT THE COLONISTS WANTED TO HAVE A SAY ABOUT WHICH TAXES WERE PASSED. PARLIAMENT, THE PART OF ENGLAND'S GOVERNMENT THAT MAKES LAWS, DISAGREED. AND KING GEORGE III, WHO SIGNED ALL THE LAWS, DISAGREED. THEY SAID AMERICANS COULD NOT VOTE ON THEIR OWN TAXES. A FAMOUS AMERICAN SLOGAN WAS "NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION," BECAUSE THE