together to the extent that such was permitted in the South.[18]

This situation became more serious when it extended to pursuits of
labor. White laborers there, as in other Northern cities during this
period, easily reached the position of thinking that it was a disgrace
to work with Negroes. This prejudice was so much more inconvenient to
the Negroes of Cincinnati than elsewhere because of the fact that most
of the menial labor in that city was done by Germans and Irishmen. Now,
since the Negroes could not follow ordinary menial occupations there was
nothing left them but the lowest form of "drudgery," for which employers
often preferred colored women. It was, therefore, necessary in some
cases for the mother to earn the living for the family because the
father could get nothing to do. A colored man could not serve as an
ordinary drayman or porter without subjecting his employer to a heavy
penalty.[19]

The trades unions were then proscribing the employment of colored
mechanics. Many who had worked at skilled labor were by this prejudice
forced to do drudgery or find employment in other cities. The president
of a "mechanical association" was publicly tried in 1830 by that
organization for the crime of assisting a colored youth to learn a
trade.[20] A young man of high character, who had at the cabinet-making
trade in Kentucky saved enough to purchase his freedom, came to
Cincinnati about this time, seeking employment. He finally found a
position in a shop conducted by an Englishman. On entering the
establishment, however, the workmen threw down their tools, declaring
that the Negro had to leave or that they would. The unfortunate
"intruder" was accordingly dismissed. He then entered the employ of a
slaveholder, who at the close of the Negro's two years of service at
common labor discovered that the black was a mechanic. The employer then