History of domestic servants in the U.S.?

[Lenona]

Does anyone know of a good source on American households and servants in the 20th century?

I ask because last year, I saw Bill Maher on stage expressing bewilderment at how middle-class families so often hire cleaners, gardeners, nannies and so on - as if they couldn't do the work themselves. Apparently, that wasn't at all common in his NJ neighborhood when he was a child - in the 1960s. And those people aren't even necessarily full-time help, today.

But...and this didn't surprise me much, though it might surprise him - in 1903, according to one source I found, 18% of American households had at least one full-time domestic servant. (That would certainly explain the humorist James Thurber's attitude; he sometimes made it sound as though, as a teen boy in the pre-WWI era, he hardly knew anyone who DIDN'T have servants.) And that was back when middle-class women typically became stay-at-home mothers. Granted, there were no automatic household appliances back then, so having a servant would likely have been very welcome.

So again, does anyone know of a book or a timeline that shows how common it was for middle-class households to have outside help on a regular basis, full-time or not?

Thanks.

[Dim Witte]

Well, it could be argued that slavery, which is what your comments get to, has been considered civilizing and philanthropic for thousands of years. Rome had its slavery and free citizenship for conquered people. Greeks even called house slaves responsible for keeping everything in place "econs," from which we derive the term "economics."

Seems obvious to me that letting ignorant immigrants into your society benefits them and you. You better believe it, because all around the world people seeking sanctuary and our freedom rights are moving in with us. See how our BIG cities survive.

As a matter of fact, seems to me, what with families breaking up and not caring for each other, getting a servant to live in would be a good idea. Just provide rent-free housing for the service. Have a relative expecting to inherit move in. Allow children or parents to live with you.

[The Real Bev]

On 3/2/23 7:00 PM, Lenona wrote:
> Does anyone know of a good source on American households and servants in the 20th century?
>
> I ask because last year, I saw Bill Maher on stage expressing bewilderment at how middle-class families so often hire cleaners, gardeners, nannies and so on - as if they couldn't do the work themselves. Apparently, that wasn't at all common in his NJ neighborhood when he was a child - in the 1960s. And those people aren't even necessarily full-time help, today.
>
> But...and this didn't surprise me much, though it might surprise him - in 1903, according to one source I found, 18% of American households had at least one full-time domestic servant. (That would certainly explain the humorist James Thurber's attitude; he sometimes made it sound as though, as a teen boy in the pre-WWI era, he hardly knew anyone who DIDN'T have servants.) And that was back when middle-class women typically became stay-at-home mothers. Granted, there were no automatic household appliances back then, so having a servant would likely have been very welcome.

Remember Little Women? The Marches were always talking about how poor
they were and yet they had Hannah. I don't think we knew whether she
lived with them or lived elsewhere. Beth got scarlet fever from taking
food and clothing to the REALLY poor family.

> So again, does anyone know of a book or a timeline that shows how common it was for middle-class households to have outside help on a regular basis, full-time or not?

--
Cheers, Bev
"Incontinence hotline, can you hold?"