Reconstruction By Frank Capra Sparknotes

1199 Words5 Pages

Frank Capra discusses the birth of America and acknowledges the many types of people from many different places who worked together to build the nation. While this type of wartime influence was imperative at that time, it neglects to include so many details from the 80 years before this film was made that housed so many important people and events. This was a common theme seen in wartime propaganda to encourage unity in the country. However, it is important to, after the war, understand and understand our country’s history. Starting after the end of the Civil War in 1865, the first period to look over is the reconstruction era. The purpose of reconstruction was to restore the Union and define a new place for African Americans and former slaves …show more content…

Another issue that working class members of society faced was working conditions. Factory jobs were racially segregated, with better-paying positions reserved for white people and lower-paying, more dangerous jobs given to African Americans. Child labor was also a prevalent issue at this time. In southern textile mills, a quarter of the workers were children ages 6 to 16. Labor struggles were defined through the appearance of stronger and more prominent labor unions fighting for the rights of the working class. They wanted better pay, hours, and working conditions, and through this, strikes and protests became common. These events often became violent and destructive, with instances such as the Haymarket Riot, and the Pullman Strike. A group called the Knights of Labor were heavily campaigning for the workday to be shortened to 8 hours, and on May 1, 1886, a strike hit that included 300,000 to 500,000 workers all across the country. The police arrived in Chicago and killed several workers, causing the group to call for a protest the next day in Haymarket