Essay About American Nation And Federation Of Organization

The American Nation – Pgs496-500 Outline
Essay Preview: The American Nation – Pgs496-500 Outline
Report this essay
Pgs 496 – 500
Labor Organizes
-During civil war only skilled artisans were organized
-Unions grew due to dissatisfaction during war
-1866 – Federation of organization, The Nation Labor Union, was founded
-Many organization leaders were visionaries, didnt understand real needs
-1869 – Knights of Labor
-Founded in Philly by Uriah S. Stephens
-Succeeded by Terence V. Powderly
-Hypocritical, denounced corporations but said all trades should unite
-Accepted women and immigrants
-Demanded 8-hour work day, higher pay eventually followed
-Remained secret under Stephens, but more public during Powderly
-Membership soared, hit 700,000 in 86
-New members were disillusioned
-Striker was killed in a brawl at McCormick Harvesting Machine Company
-Anarchists called a meeting on May 4 at Haymarket Square, police
came to break it up, and a bomb killed 7 cops and many others
The American Federation of Labor
-Anarchists were put to death as result of bombing, organized labor suffered
-Knights of Labor was disbanded due to heavy loss of members
-American Federation of Labor (AFL) replaces Knights in 1886
-Adolph Strasser and Samuel Gompers (Cigarmakers Union) were
interested in utopian reforms
-Toyed with the idea of political party, but soon focus turned to more
imminent issues like higher pay and shorter hours
-AFL tried to develop a sense of common purpose
-Unions were a “kind of club as well as a means of defending and
advancing material interests”
-Gompers encouraged strategic use of the strike
-1901 membership passed one million
Labor Militancy Rebuffed
-Average employer acted like a tyrant, trying to oppress unions
-Carnegie approved unions
-Deflation, technological change, and intense competition kept employers pressur