 At first, the law was limited to labors and mechanics largely at shipyards and army installations and did not apply to white collar office workers, yet it set labor benchmark.Not only did Teamoh experience the failure of the Reconstruction era government, he lost his home due to a loan that was secured on property he purchased in 1871.Teamoh blamed this faulty loan on the Tide Water Trust company and a local minister whom he referred to as "This high apostle of real estate brokerage."