Labor and The Industrial Revolution

Social Inequality

• By 1900– 2% of Americans owned

1/3 of Nations Wealth – 10% of Americans owned

¾ of Nations wealth– 90% of society was poor

• Social Mobility – the ability to improve ones economic status was common, but “rages to riches” was very uncommon

• High demand for unskilled workers – children, women, and immigrants entered work force

Social Inequality – Continued

• Working conditions – extremely poor and

unhealthy– Average wage $3.50

hour by modern standards

– 60 hour work week– American had highest

accident rate in world– Only country with no

workers compensation

• Living conditions reflected income and working conditions

Child Labor

• Poverty forced families to send their children to work

• 1880 – 1/6 of children in US worked full time– As young as 8 years old– Same working conditions

as adults– Received no education– Little parental nurturing

or play• Often employed in textile

mills or coal mines• 3X more likely to be

injured then adult workers• Less likely to reach age of

20 then non-working children

Child Labor Continued

Seeds of Unionism • Union – a collection of workers

who uses their collective bargaining power to create better working conditions and better pay

• Craft Unions – open to only workers of a certain skill or industry

• Labor Unions – open to all workers in an industry regardless work performed

• Industrialist and Politicians were against Unions – respected property rights more then rights of labor

• Working conditions and pay encourage workers to form unions

Seeds of Unionism Continued

• 3 events impacted public view of early unions– Molly Maguires – used

violence and terrorism to improve working conditions – 24 members convicted of violence

– Railroad Strike of 1877 – first nation wide strike, railroad employees protested falling pay, mob violence erupted and destroyed property, 100 people died

– Sand-Lot Incident – Labor protest that turned into anti-Chinese riot, Chinese blamed for hard economic times in California

Seeds of Unionism Continued

• The violence and failure of the three events demonstrated the need labor organize national unions

• Unions began 1850’s, but took off during the Civil War

Knights of Labor

• Founded by Uriah S. Stephens in 1869

• Labor Union – all could join • Preferred boycotts to strikes • Lobbied for

– Bureaus of Labor Statistics – keeps data

– Mechanic’s Lien Laws – ensures salary payments

– Foran Act – against labor imports by companies

– Eight Hour Workday – Paper Currency – Equal pay for equal work

• 1886 – 700,000 members • Greatest success organizing

unskilled and non-traditional workers

The American Federation of Labor (AFL)

• Founded by Samuel Gompers in 1886

• Craft Union – feared unskilled workers would hurt their bargaining power

• Focused on economic gains – Higher Wages– Shorter Hours – Better working Conditions– Avoided utopian ideas or

politics • Preferred Strikes • 1920 – 4 million • Greatest success was

organizing skilled workers

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

• AKA – The Wobblies• Founded in 1905 by Daniel De

Leon– Must be founded on“class

struggle” and the “conflict between the capitalist class and the working class”

• More radical then Knights and AFL

• Members were on the fringes of society and labeled anarchists, bums, and criminals

• WWI ended the union, when most leaders were jailed for antiwar statements

• Left behind rich folklore

Socialism in America

• Capitalism – means of production are owned by individuals – promotes individual progress

• Socialism – means of production are owned by government – promotes collective equality

• Major Unions did not ally themselves with socialism

• Socialist Labor Party – attracted mainly German immigrants – Daniel De Leon dominated the

party, vowed to unite labor as a political party and abolish government when in power, and labor unions will control society

Socialism in America continued

• Eugene Debs – More successful then De

Leon at building a socialist movement in America – Father of American Socialism

– Founded the American Railroad Union

– Helped found IWW– Spent time in Prison for role

in the Pullman Strike – Founded Social Democratic

Party • 1900 election received

96,000 votes • 1904, 400,000 votes • 1912, 900,000 votes or 6%

of popular vote

The End