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Summary Of John Hollitz's Thinking Through The Past

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This chapter of John Hollitz’s novel, Thinking Through the Past, features twelve primary sources that radically describe life during the industrialization era, and the effects that it bore on workers’ lives. Through the analyzation of these sources, it is evident that industrialization enslaved workers to dangerous working environments, extremely low wages, long work days, and lives with very little freedom. This lead to numerous strikes, multiple casualties, and the formation of labor unions. The extent of the harsh working conditions weighed heavy on white men, but that did not compare to the struggles that plagued colored men, immigrants, women, and even children. The working conditions of this time varied on the place of work and especially on race. For example, source two list the average income and expenses of multiple different families. The average income of the American Laborer was $360, the average income of an Irish Laborer was $343, and the average income of an Italian Laborer was $270. This shows that even though the three men worked the same hours at the same job, they were not paid the same amount due to their race. Even …show more content…

He owns the houses, the schoolhouses, the churches of God...The revenue he derives from these, the wages he pays out with one hand- the Pullman Palace Car Company, he takes back with the other- the Pullman Land Association.” This excerpt directly quotes the fourth source in this chapter. The aforementioned quote explains how the workers and residents of this town were forced to buy everything from the same man that was also their boss. Pullman pulled the strings and would often reduce wages only to increase store prices. He was a boss out only for himself. His plutocratic ways eventually lead to the formation of the American Railroad Union in

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