 In 1849, Henry L. Pierce was hired to work as a clerk at the Baker Chocolate Company.Walter Baker, the owner of the chocolate company and stepbrother of Pierce's mother, hired him at a salary of three dollars per week.However, as their political views clashed and caused animosity (Pierce was a vociferous and deeply opinionated Free-Soiler), Pierce left after only a year of politically tinged employment to take up newspaper work in the Midwest.