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Compare And Contrast The Farmer And Industrial Workers Response To Industrialization

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Farmers and Industrial Workers Response to Industrialization
In a time when the United States was ending Reconstruction after the Civil War, the country was beginning to move west due to the Monroe Doctrine, which promoted expanding settlement across the country. As more Americans began travelling out west, the transcontinental railroad was established to connect the country together and make it easier to spread west. Although many Americans and immigrants began to move west, there was still a largely growing population in the urban cities, as around 3.5 million immigrants came to the United States. The increasing immigration into the United States was caused by the Second Industrial Revolution. This new age brought electricity and mechanical …show more content…

The first national labor union was the Knights of Labor (KOL) established in 1869. The Knights allowed all skilled and unskilled workers, including women and African Americans, to join the union while only excluding those deemed “unproductive” to society. While it was popular, the KOL worked to gain a national eight hour workday with higher wages and better working conditions, and all without the use of strikes or boycotts because the group did not want to hurt the economy.The Knights of Labor was a significant response to industrialization because the formation of the union showed that industrial workers were willing to fight for more rights. After the KOL lost popularity, another national organization formed called the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The AFL shared several ideas with the KOL, but this group refused to allow women and African-Americans to join while supporting all union and non-union workers. During the time the AFL was at its largest, the group used boycotts and strikes, unlike the KOL, to make a stand against the unfair conditions of large corporations. The American Federation of Labor was also an important response to industrialization because the formation of more unions allowed for more communication between industrial workers as the fight continued against unfair work conditions. Since many industrial workers joined unions, workers could easily gather together to organize strikes and boycotts. Industrial workers realized that companies could not make a profit when no one was working, and that by protesting, workers would eventually achieve better conditions in the workplace; however, companies found a way around these strikes and boycotts by hiring scabs and not allowing workers to join unions. In some cases strikes became violent, as one of the largest protesting events during the Gilded Age was the Haymarket Square Riot in Chicago in

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The labor union titled Noble and Holy Order of Knights of Labor, or Knights of Labor, was

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In the late 19th century there was a spike in Railroad Construction in the United States. The growth began as a result of congress passing the Pacific Railroad Bill in 1862 which began the construction of the Transcontinental Railroads. In the near future the Transcontinental Railroads would connect both sides of the United States, therefore they would eventually lead up to the settling of the west. Railroads in the late 19th century would affect the settling of the west by allowing people to travel to find work in an efficient manner, by allowing faster and more efficient methods to transport goods to consumers, and improving the economy overall. Starting off Railroads greatly impacted travel time from one place to another.

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In a time when the United States changed from a predominantly rural nation to a modern industrial society called the Gilded age. During these times America saw massive waves of immigration and huge technological advances, such as the Transcontinental Railroad and the electric motor. Due to this industrialization workers like industrial workers and farmers responded in many ways. Farmers and Industrial workers responded to industrialization during the Gilded Age by establishing the Farmer’s Alliance, work unions, and the formation of the Populist Party.

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The labor movements were still growing strength slowly and another important union was established called the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The AFL believed workers would remain laborers their whole live, so they created a feeling of self-importance though skills and job. The only allowed skilled workers to enter their union, working towards goals such as liability, increased wages, and a standard eight-hour work day. The ALF used boycotts and negotiation to achieve their goals using strike funds collected form workers, helped the ALF to strike and still get

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they considered striking as a last resort for them. so did the AFL. IWW did think that they needed to do striking because they wanted to move quickly to get what they requested. The KOL didn’t like striking because back then it was very dangerous, which they were, during the riot in haymarket seven policemen and four workers were killed along with a 100 injured “ Under Powderly, the Union advocated arbitration and boycotts to settle labor disputes and did not necessarily support strikes. Arbitration is a form of meeting where the management would sit down with representatives of the workers and try to work out their differences oftentimes with a third party trying to help them reach a reasonable solution”.

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The 44-day sit-down strike that happened in Flint, Michigan had forced the General Motors to recognize the United Auto Workers. A few weeks later, U.S. Steel had accepted unionization without a strike, but the "Little Steel" companies, said they could not resist the steel workers union. About 75,000 workers walked out and violence started. In 1937, the police in South Chicago had opened fire on marchers at the Republic mill, killing ten people.

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These events caused the influence of the Knights of Labor to immensely decline. Many members of the union were left unsatisfied. This lead to the foster of the establishment of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) whose primary focus was to captivate economic benefits through collective bargaining. In this same year, there was an estimated amount of 700,000 members in the Knights of Labor union. In 1888, a significant event on the Knights of Labor timeline included the reconciliation between the KOL and the Catholic church.

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In a time when America was coming out of the bloodiest war that was ever fought, against themselves, The Civil War, and when America looked overseas for a new frontier with Imperialism. It is in this context that America started to grow westward with farm land and in industry with the million of workers, but America still felt growing pains. Two significant ways in which farmers and industrial workers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age (1865-1900) were the formation of organizations to protect farmers, and the creation of labor unions and the use of strikes to protect the workers. One significant way in which farmers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age (1865 - 1900) was the formation of organizations to protect farmers. During Westward Expansion farmers fell victims to the low pricing of the crops.

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The Westward Expansion of the United States from 1860 to 1890 began with President Thomas Jefferson’s purchase of 828,800 square miles of land from France in 1803. The purchase, known as the Louisiana Purchase, provided an opportunity for the United States to expand its territories to cater for its growing population due to the influx of migrants from Europe and China. The Homestead Act of 1862, the California Gold Rush, the abolition of slavery, and the completion of the first railroad network in 1869 were key factors that contributed to the movement of people Westward (Carroll, 2008). Many factors contributed to the rapid expansion of the territories in the West, and the migration had immense impacts on the economic and social conditions

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The first similarities among the collective labor unions are that they each had the goal of obtaining better conditions for the worker. With factories rising at such a fast pace, it was virtually impossible for workers to control or improve their working conditions. The NLU first organized with plans on uniting different labor unions with the intent of creating a common movement or a national organization. The NLU fought for higher wages and shorter hours through Legislative reform instead of bargaining.

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University of the People Written assignment unit 5 PHIL 1404: Ethics and Social Responsibility. 6 th March 2024 Introduction Ethical shopping has become more popular in today's worldwide economy as people look for goods that are consistent with their beliefs. The fair trade movement has gained prominence as a leader in moral business practices, especially when it comes to coffee, with the goal of enhancing the lot of farmers in poor nations. The discussion examines the effect of fair trade on the economy.

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The AFL advocated for most of the same things as the Knights of Labor. The American Federation of Labor used strikes and boycotts against owners to try and get what they wanted. Two major strikes that occurred were the Pullman Strike and the Homestead Strike. Both strikes were very dangerous and had millions of dollars of damage. Some of the strikes and boycotts did work and wages were raised, however some backfired and many workers ended up losing their

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• The first labor union in US: The first national labor federation in the United States was The National Labor Union (NLU), founded in 1866 and led by William Sylvian. The National Labor United brought together all white men workers, skilled and unskilled workers, as well as farmers. Chinese, African American, and women were excluded.

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Strikes were executed more by the industrial workers, but the farmers did have a few. Strikes were common during the Gilded Age because as industrialization increased, working conditions and labor requirements got worse. The industrial workers were having to work ten to twelve hours, five days a week at the least and not even being paid enough to compensate for their work. Barely scraping by with the amount of work the workers do for their company angered them, and prompted strikes. Some well-known strikes are the Pullman Strike and the Homestead Strike.

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For some, it was destiny to move west. Although there were many conflicts and disagreements between ourselves and others, it was destiny to move west because of overpopulation, new inventions of transportation methods, and new opportunities. In the 19th Century, overpopulation was one of the major reasons for Westward Expansion. Immigrants were flooding into America for new opportunities and new ways of life and there was just not enough land to suffice the needs for all of the people. These immigrants were arriving in America in the port cities on the East Coast.

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