Workplace Reform Here we go again.

You’re on your own! Today, you will work on coming up with a graphic for section 8.4, WORKPLACE REFORM! Before we get into our groups, spend 10 minutes rereading/skimming the section by yourselves. Go to my website and click on the online textbook.

Wrap it up! You have the next 40 minutes to FINISH your poster. Start with today’s square, then put the finishing touches on the other squares.

Let’s back up… In the late 1700’s, early 1800’s, most textile making was done at home. The Cottage Industry was when women would buy thread from a manufacturer, and sew the textiles at home.

1st Industrial Revolution Entrepreneurs develop factories, which spin the cloth and make it into clothing all under one roof. Textiles led the way in our manufacturing revolution.

Artisans- People who make stuff besides clothes Master- They usually owned and ran the shop Journeyman- An assistant to a master, working on becoming a master. Apprentice- A young boy who is learning the trade from a journeyman and a master. Wanting to make his way up to Journeyman.

Working conditions in the factories Factories are all about making money, at whatever cost deemed necessary. Windows were nailed shut to keep in humidity. Workers would often become ill from the cotton dust and smoke from candles. They worked long hours in dangerous conditions.

Strike! In 1834, factory owners in Lowell, Massachusetts implemented a 15% wage cut. The “mill girls” of Lowell organized a strike, or stoppage in work.

It doesn’t work. The striking women were shamed by local leaders and church clergy to get back to work. They did, at the reduced wage, and the leaders of the strike were fired. They try again two years later after another wage cut. That strike also failed.

Immigration Between 1835 and 1845, 3 million European immigrants arrive in America. They settle mostly in the North, because that’s where the work was.

Next come the Irish. They Irish came in droves between 1845 and 1854 due to the Potato Famine in Ireland. They settled in Northeastern cities and faced much discrimination. Native born Americans did not like them because they were Catholic. They didn’t like them because they worked for low wages. Mobs in Philadelphia and New York formed and destroyed Irish neighborhoods.

National Trades’ Union Unions were organized workers from a certain industry. The National Trades’ Union was a “union of unions” from all kinds of trades. This increased the power of American workers, and made the wealthy factory owners upset.

How is all of this connected? Write a 100 word paragraph in which you describe how ALL of the following are connected Second Great Awakening Transcendentalism Prison Reform Education Reform Abolitionist Movement Women’s Reform Movement Workers’ Reform Movement