ipl-logo

How Did Samuel Gompers Influence The Labour Movement

1429 Words6 Pages

Samuel Gompers helped to found and lead the initial stages of the labor movement in both Canada and the United States of America. He was born to a Dutch/Jewish family in London in 1850, and often followed in his father’s footsteps. Gompers finished the Jewish Free School of London at age 10, graduating at the top of his class. Though Gompers was so successful in school, he was unable to continue as his family needed money, and he was the oldest of five children. Shoemaking was Samuel’s first apprenticeship, however he quickly switched to cigar making to follow his father’s craft. The Gompers family lived in a one bedroom apartment, and when the London economy was especially poor in the 1860’s, the whole family emigrated to America. (New …show more content…

(New Netherland Institute) These organizations helped Gompers to form foundation for his future involvement in the labor movement, specifically the CMIU. After the Tompkins Square Riot of 1874, Gompers saw the labor movement in a different way, and changed many of his views. Gompers specifically abandoned socialism and understood the need for strong national unions to organize labor successfully. (Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor) Though Gompers understood the necessity of national unions, and the weakness of locals, he still felt that locals were useful for smaller problems and to help support the national unions. In 1874, Gompers founded local 144 of CMIU, where he became president, and remained a member for life. (New Netherland Institute) Gomper’s local union leader, Adolph Strasser, became president of the national union in 1877, where he worked with Gompers to strengthen CMIU in the face of technological advancements taking jobs. Strasser introduces policies such as plans to provide unemployment and strike funds, which allowed the national union to exert its power over the locals. (Historical Encyclopedia of American

Show More
Related
725 Words | 3 Pages

John L. Lewis - President of the United Mine Workers of America in 1919. He called his union members out on strike in protest of low wages and long workdays. 3. Samuel Gompers -The president of the American Federalization of Labor (AFL). He appealed to Coolidge on behalf of the fired men, which had saved the nation from communism.

Read More
843 Words | 4 Pages

In the generations of the immigrant labor of a Slovak family, the Dorejacks demonstrates the tough labor in America. In the novel “Out This Furnace” a captivating, non-fiction story, Thomas Bell suggests that immigrant labor in the early days was tough and factors like labor inequality, the relationship between companies and politics, and essential money shaped immigrants freedom. In the mid-1800’s George Kracha fled his country, Austria, under the ruler of Frank Josef, because of the lack of money and employment, Kracha couldn’t sustain his wife and mother (p.3). Moreover, Kracha’s story began when he arrived in New York to White Hill, he then migrates to several other cities but still in America.

Read More
322 Words | 2 Pages

Artwork and literature are good tools for historians studying about generalism during the Renaissance. Generalism is a person who is interested in many things and active in many field, those people are also known as the renaissance man. In document 3, the document illustrates many sketches of many subjects made by Leonardo da Vinci. In those sketches, it shows sketches of futuristic weapon (for that time), a flying machine, some sketches of human body and a beautiful picture of a bush with flowers. This sketches clearly shows Leonardo is dedicating himself into many different subjects.

Read More
468 Words | 2 Pages

Unlike the Knights of Labor, the AFL only accepted white males who were skilled workers in similar trades into their ranks. Their focus was on economic gains including better wages, hours and working conditions; not over social reform or non-skilled workers plight. By using boycotts, strikes and collective bargaining the organization was able to win shorter working hours and better pay for its skilled workers. Gompers continued with these methods through out his reign, believing that by having a group of unions with only skilled laborers, he could have more influence by excluding the unskilled ones. He saw the higher wages earned by skilled individuals and wanted to capture their wealth and influence in with the AFLs own

Read More
707 Words | 3 Pages

The work of Samuel Gompers acted as a catalyst to the dawning of the Progressive Era. Gompers’ revolutionary union work advocated for social justice and regulation within factories. HIs work with expanding the rights of workers through factory regulation and organized unions was continued even after his death by the organization her started in 1886. The American Federation of Labor outlasted even the Knights of Labor, and today is still a well respected organization. The American Federation of Labor grew from 50,000 members in 1886, to nearly 3 million members in 1924.

Read More
1011 Words | 5 Pages

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

Read More
1153 Words | 5 Pages

In 1935, the United States passed the Wagner Act which enables more workers rights and gave the right to join/form unions and participate in collective bargaining. But this was not to be passed before many workers began to form unions and were refused that ability. Many riots and strikes were put into place to try and protect their rights. Some strikes became violent resulting in deaths, while others just created trouble for the workers. These efforts without initial government backing caused many problems but many changes.

Read More
1143 Words | 5 Pages

Labor and the US Government from 1890-1945 A key aspect of this nation’s history lies in the ever-shifting relationship between its government and its common man, most specifically its labor workers. This relationship plays a crucial role in the understanding of the changes that took place in America between 1890 and 1945. The changing relationship between government and labor workers in the United States between 1890 and 1945 demonstrates a period of unrest and a transitional period in which the focus shifted towards the working class as a result of the greed and corruption of 19th century business elite , as can be seen in the labor strikes requiring government intervention of the late 19th century, the progressives of the early 20th century

Read More
408 Words | 2 Pages

The feeling, shown in Nast's illustration after the railroad strike of 1877, that amalgamations simply lead to more " communistic values" and general uniformity made it very arduous to genuinely get anything done. Samuel Gompers, progenitor of the American Federation of Labor, argued that the right to strike was absolutely obligatory if any reforms were going to be made and not even this right had been officially granted to the people by regime (Document I). Gompers made it very pellucid that not even the very substratum of organized labor had been established and so up until this point the advances that had been made, were virtually frivolous. In conclusion, from 1875-1900 very few advances were made through organized labor in achieving better working conditions for workers.

Read More
443 Words | 2 Pages

“In the United States history of unions, early workers and trade unions played an important part in the role for independence” (Union Plus). In 1866, the National Labor Union (NLU) ambitiously tried to achieve equal rights for women, African Americans, and mandate eight-hour work days. They managed to convince Congress to adopt the eight-hour work day, but only for federal employees. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) with approximately 1.4 million members was successful in wage negotiation, and enhanced work conditions for its members. “A combination of factors contributed to the debilitating Panic of 1873, which triggered what the public referred to at the time as the “Great Depression” of the 1870s” (OpenStax College, 2014).

Read More
1064 Words | 5 Pages

The glass castle has many themes throughout the book but I think one theme that is very prominent is: the perseverance to never give up. I say this because Jeannette goes through various things throughout her life. She faces hardships at a young age and yet still has the vigor to go on. Being caught on fire at three years old, being beat up at a new school by girls twice her size, having to eat margarine because that was literally the only thing to eat in the house, watching your parents put knives to each other's throats, or being locked in a basement for stopping her grandma from violating her brother, Jeannette never once looked at her life as sad or tragic.

Read More
886 Words | 4 Pages

The AFL was a labor union with members all over America. With such a wide membership, Gompers’ ideas about reducing the amount of hours employees worked became a nationwide battlecry. Gompers’s goals were to create jobs for union members that were in “closed shops” to ensure that union members got the best jobs with the best benefits. While this was not always agreed

Read More
571 Words | 3 Pages

“Samuel Gompers was a very important person in the American labor movement and he was the founder and first president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL)” (“Samuel Gompers,” 1936). He was born into a poor family in East London on January 27, 1850 living there only a few years. His family moved to New York where he and his father worked as cigar makers and both later joined the Cigar Makers’ Union. With the help of other union leaders, Gompers eventually set up the AFL in 1886.

Read More
1399 Words | 6 Pages

The workers gather to listen to several speakers over the five days near the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company among those giving the speaks there was both a pled from those who discouraged violence and encourage the crowd to join together against the companies; however, this was also a pled from those who urge worked to take action of violent revolution. The Haymarket Riot turned into a violent event resulting in a controversy trial that supported the discrimination against union members. Perhaps the greatest lasting effect of the riot was that it created a widespread revulsion against union, which caused membership to decline and reduce union influence; because unions became lined to radical ideas and violence in the popular mind. (Avial,2011)

Read More
422 Words | 2 Pages

Large employers, such as U.S. Steel and International Harvester, commenced a setup of company unions. This action was used to replace symbolic employee depictions within management conferences for the more confrontational process of collective bargaining; therefore, these approaches backed up the severe failure in levels of organized labor. Conservative and timid union control was accountable for this movement. President of the American Federation of Labor, William Green, had no interest in getting unorganized workers from mass-production

Read More

More about How Did Samuel Gompers Influence The Labour Movement

Related Topics

Open Document