Essay On Organized Labor Dbq

Organized Labor DBQ
Starting in the 1870’s, there were large movements pushing to better the lives of the working and labor classes. Various unions were formed throughout the country, each with their own agendas, while progressives put pressures on the government for reforms. With corporations working against them, however, organized labor was not very successful in improving workers’ lives, a result of the awful plight of the workers, the power of the corporation, and the futility of strikes. The workers’ plight in the late 19th century was bleak. The Panic of 1873 had hit the economy hard, with those in the lower classes suffering from unemployment and a steadily decreasing wage, which can be seen in Document A. The wage index does

In one machinist’s testimony to the Senate, he described how completely and truly machines had taken over industry, erasing any need for skilled labor (Doc C). His testimony landed on deaf ears, but shows us how corporations controlled all aspects with workers having no leverage, basically meaning that they had to be submissive, or they would lose their jobs and starve. Anyone was replaceable, as machines did all the skilled work, and they also could pay workers much less as now there was no skill to go with a job. It was a scary amount of power that was barely challenged with the exception of the Sherman Antitrust Act, an attempt by the federal government to destroy monopolies. While representing a landmark piece of legislature, at the time it was incredibly weak and barely enforced, and had little effect. What was even more terrifying was the development of employee contracts to control workers even further. In Document E, the contract completely banned the involvement of workers in unions, denying them many rights and freedoms if they sought to work at the place in question. Without any power to strike, unions were powerless to try and reform their conditions except to try and lobby in the government, and workers continued to suffer. The different agendas of the unions also presented a problem. In the political cartoon of Document F, the cooks, representing each special interest labor group, fought

Most strikes proved to be futile despite the best effort of the strikers, which was illustrated in the Homestead Strike of 1892 in the Homestead Steel Plant owned by Carnegie. It was one of the few violent strikes where the workers decided to take matters into their own hands, resulting in a bloody clash with the Pinkertons and several casualties ( Doc G ). The federal government eventually called in the national guard, and the strikers were blacklisted, never to work again. The strike not only showed the power of magnates like Carnegie, but created a sense of futility for strikes in general. This was reflected in other strikes, most notably the Great Railroad Strike led by Eugene Debs where transportation was affected so badly the government had to intervene and put a stop to it. Both strikes failed because of the federal government, with neither one improving workers’ lives, and illustrated the general results of union efforts. Despite all this, however, just the demonstration of striking could have an effect on workers. As Samuel Gompers realized in Document I, without leverage to strike, the employers would hold all the cards and conditions would continually worsen, and he sought to convey this to the House of Representatives, perhaps in an effort to convince them to protect labor rights. That was what made the workers’ plight so concerning in the late half of the 19th century. Social Darwinism had