These actions represent a period when the yard workers, though not yet unionized, could strike—an option later denied to government employees. While workers were generally forced to accept the prevailing pay and conditions at the yard, they were not completely without power. In the Charlestown Navy Yard’s first half-century, world events, U.S. politics, and sectional rivalries affected the ebb and flow of work and the hiring and firing of men. The yard was born in the midst of a world at war and grew to prominence in a time of relative calm—in retrospect, the lull before the storm of civil war. [Illustration: _Sloop-of-war_ (_U.S.S._ Decatur _or_ Dale) _dry docked in Charlestown has its rigging tarred and its hull sheathed with copper, about 1852_.] _Continues on page 29_ Building a Wooden Ship The creation of a wooden warship began in the mold loft. There carpenters translated specifications from standard plans for each class of vessel into full-sized wooden patterns. These were used to fashion hull members, for which white oak or live oak were the favored woods. (Some 2,000 trees were required for a 74-gun ship-of-the-line.) On the slightly inclined building ways, joiners first laid the keel, the great spine of the ship running along the bottom of the hull. Then they attached the stem and the stern post to the keel and raised the frames—the vessel’s ribs. The frames formed the contours of the hull and, together with horizontal deck beams and vertical stanchions beneath the beams, provided a strong skeleton. After 1829, iron and copper bolts and spikes replaced many of the wooden “treenails” that secured the structural members and fastened the deck and hull planking. The rudder was hung, the hull caulked and sheathed with copper to protect it from teredo worms, and the ship was launched. Riggers then “stepped” masts to the keelson, a lengthwise beam bolted to the keel (_see page 19_). After they rigged the horizontal spars, cordage, and sails, the new warship was ready for outfitting. [Illustration: _Expanding U.S. interests in the Pacific spurred Congress in 1825 to authorize a new class of sloop-of-war to protect those interests. Charlestown Navy Yard constructed three of them between 1825 and 1827._] 1 Building ways 2 “Shears”: hoisted heavy pieces 3 Keel 4 Stern post 5 Frames 6 Deck beams 7 Planking 8 Drag chains: arrested ship after launch 9 Shiphouse The Workforce in 1835 138 Carpenters 56 Ropemakers 40 Laborers 37 Joiners 34 Blacksmiths 25 Sailmakers 19 Riggers 18 Coopers 17 Plumbers 16 Boatbuilders 14 Sparmakers 12 Blockmakers 11 Painters 6 Caulkers 6 Masons 6 Sawyers The Frigate _Constitution_