Scott—Labor Conditions in Massachusetts, 1860-70. 167 
AN INVESTIGATION IN REGARD TO THE CONDITION 
OF LABOR AND MANUFACTURES IN 
MASSACHUSETTS, 1860-1870 
JONATHAN P. SCOTT. 
In making a study of the effects of the Civil War upon econ¬ 
omic conditions in any part of the country, it is unsafe to as.^ 
sume, for purposes of comparison, that the year 1860 was a year 
of prosperity, and that a healthy state of affairs during the next 
five years is proved by gains over conditions existing in that 
year. In order to prove progress by means of comparisons be¬ 
tween 1860 and later years, it must be shown that in 1860, the 
recovery from the Crisis of 1857 was complete. If, for ex¬ 
ample, we find an industry in poorer condition in 1865 than 
it was in 1855, we may assume one or more of the folio-wing 
causes: 1. that the effects of the crisis have been felt by this 
industry for eight years. 2. that the industry has been de¬ 
pressed by the economic disturbances accompanying the war. 
3. that special circumstances have caused its- decline. The 
question is not only whether conditions in 1865 were better than 
they were in 1860 or 1861, but whether there has been a normal 
advance since 1857. 
There is no doubt that by 1860, Massachusetts was at least 
beginning to recover from the crisis. The governor, in his ad¬ 
dress, Jan. 6, 1860, said “the mechanical, manufacturing, and 
commercial interests are recovering from recent depression and 
will soon exhibit, with such aid as the general government may 
properly grant, their former vigor and success.” 1 The number 
of firms and corporations established in 1860, and reported to 
i Reported in the Boston Daily Advertiser, Jan. 7, 1860. 
