Hardships of the Working Class Chapter 6 (Ch. 13,3 in textbook)

Working Conditions Long hours (often 12 hours/day, 6 days/week) Companies kept (keep) wages low to maximize profits Often sought out women and immigrants Sweatshop working conditions Child labor common throughout 1800’s

Company Towns Privatized towns run for profit Tightly controlled Between rent, sales of goods, and interest companies could make as much off of their towns as the business Seen as another example of labor exploitation

Labor Unions Attempts at collective bargaining began by 1820’s in US Focused on “bread and butter issues” – better wages and working conditions Unions/organized labor strongly opposed by business and often government

Socialism 1830’s Less support in US than Europe but it did not gain in popularity Some ideas influenced social reform and labor movements