The crushing burden of housework prompted many families to hire domestic servants. In the United States, help was easy to find -- and cheap -- because
of the flood of destitute, penniless immigrants entering the country. Paid "in kind" with room and board and, sometimes, used clothing, servants performed all manner of cleaning for as long as 15 hours a day, seven days a week. They typically ate alone from the leftovers of the meals they prepared, and lived in segregated, minimally furnished quarters attached to the kitchen. Understandably, many left their domestic positions to take factory jobs as soon as they had the chance.
