Too Long for a Tweet, Too Short for a Blog Post XX

Here's an excerpt from a book I am reading now, "Dr. Mutter's Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine," by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz.  It is an extremely well-written account not only of an interesting man but also of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and the city of Philadelphia in the mid-1800's.


"The ever-growing population of free blacks— who came to Philadelphia with the hope of making a life for themselves and their families— were a frequent target of that violence. Much of the anger came from Philadelphia’s large working-class and poor populations, who were easily enraged by what they saw as the unfair competition that free blacks presented in the labor market. It was ironic that the racism that emboldened employers to pay free blacks less money than their white counterparts for the same jobs was also the source of so much racist anger volleyed at them by the white workers, who felt they had been robbed by workers who were willing to be paid so much less."