Transcript Labor Movement - Rogers State University

 NOTICE 

These slides are provided to augment
the lectures presented in Dr. Hatley’s
History 2493-US Since 1877 course. If
you miss class, you should not assume
that merely perusing these will provide
you with sufficient information to do well
on examinations.
The Labor Movement
 Millions
of immigrants could find
employment.
 Industrial work week: 1860—66
hours; 1910—55 hours.
 Buying power and standard of
living increased for most
Americans. Prices dropped for all
industrial and consumer goods.
The Labor Movement
 Average
real wage increases:
 1860—1890 50%; 1890—1914
37%
 The downside of industrial work:
 Poor heath and safety conditions
 No employer liability
The Labor Movement
 Widespread
use of women and
children
 The new industrial age added
monotony and mindless repetition
 Consequently, labor tried to
organize itself throughout the late
Nineteenth Century
The Labor Movement
 National
Labor Union (1866)
 (1) eight-hour workday
 (2) workers’ cooperatives
 Knights of Labor (1869)
 (1) eight-hour workday
 (2) workers’ cooperatives
The Labor Movement
 (3)
worker-owned factories
 (4) free homesteads
 (5) increased circulation of
greenbacks
 (6) equal pay for both sexes
 (7) political activism
The Labor Movement
 Under
Terrence
V. Powderly,
membership in
the K of L grew
to 700,000 by
1886. Why ?
The Labor Movement
 (1)
Successful strikes against
small railroads between 1882
and 1886
 (2) Federal Bureau of Labor
Statistics; Foran Act (1885)
The Labor Movement
K
of L began a fatal decline in
1886. Why?
 (1) Cooperatives a financial
failure
 (2) Powderly preoccupied with
political activism and combative
and confrontational with
management
The Labor Movement
 (3)
The Haymarket Affair (1886)
 Workers at McCormick Harvesting
Machine Company, Chicago,
Illinois joined a nation-wide strike
for the eight-hour workday
(1 May 1886)
The Labor Movement
 Some
workers
killed, others
injured in
clash with
police at
McCormick
(3 May 1886)
The Labor Movement
 Anarchists
planned
to hold a protest
rally at Haymarket
Square (4 May)
The Labor Movement
 Johann
Most
(1846-1906)
The Labor Movement
 Science
of Revolutionary Warfare: A
Handbook of Instruction Regarding
the Use and Manufacture of
Nitroglycerine, Dynamite, GunCotton, Fulminating Mercury,
Bombs, Arsons, Poisons, Etc., Etc.
(New York, 1885)
The Labor Movement
 Police
arrived,
someone threw
a bomb, and
police returned
fire
The Labor Movement
 Violence
convinced
many Americans
that unions were
criminal
organizations
The Labor Movement
 The
American
Federation of
Labor (1886)
 Samuel Gompers
(1850-1924)
The Labor Movement
 How
did Gompers attempt to help
the worker?
 (1) catered to the skilled worker
 (2) represented workers in matters
of national legislation
 (3) maintained a national strike
fund
The Labor Movement
 (4)
Evangelized the cause of
unionism
 (5) prevented disputes among the
many craft unions
 (6) mediated disputes between
management and labor
 (7) closed shop
The Labor Movement
 Great
Railroad Strike (1877)
 Immediate cause: wage cuts
 Baltimore, Maryland and
Martinsburg, West Virginia
 walkouts and sympathy
demonstrations spread
 Pittsburgh militia; Philadelphia
The Labor Movement
 Homestead
Steel Strike (1892)
 Amalgamated Association of Iron
and Steel Workers
The Labor Movement
 Henry
Clay Frick
(1849-1919)
 Pinkerton Detectives
The Labor Movement
 Alexander
Berkman
(1870-1936)
The Labor Movement
 The
Pullman Strike
(1894)
 Pullman Palace Car
Co. Pullman, IL.
 George M. Pullman
(1831-1897)
The Labor Movement
 President
Grover
Cleveland (D)
(1837-1908)
(1885-1889)
(1893-1897)
The Labor Movement
 US
Attorney
General Richard
Olney
(1835-1917)
The Labor Movement
 Illinois
Governor
John Peter Altgeld (D)
(1847-1902)
(1893-1897)