1. The American Worker

2. Workers From Rural areas and Europe Desire employment opportunities
Escape poverty and oppression
New ethnic groups cluster together in cities
“Little Italy”

3. IMMIGRATION
Old immigration (Before 1880) – People from northern and western Europe, Ireland and Germany
New immigration ( )- shift to southern and eastern Europe – Italy, Poland and Russia. Also, Japan and China

4. Danish Norwegian German Dutch Swedish English Scottish Welsh Irish
Northern Europe
German
Dutch
The
"Old"
Immigrants
Swedish
English
Scottish
Welsh
Irish

5. Southern & Eastern Europe
Italian
Russian
Greek
Southern & Eastern Europe
Jews
The
"New"
Immigrants
Romanian
Hungarian
Austrian
Serbian
Polish
Chinese

7. To Escape. Conditions in immigrants’ native lands often propelled
Religious
Persecution
Of Jews
The Irish
Potato Famine
To Escape. Conditions in immigrants’ native lands often propelled
or “pushed” them to leave. Immigrants came to escape
conditions of poverty or religious and political persecution.
Extreme Poverty
& Crime in
Italy
Political
Persecution
in Germany

8. The Land of Opportunity. Conditions in the U.S. also attracted or
Availability Of
Jobs
$ Higher
Standards
Of Living $
The Land of Opportunity. Conditions in the U.S. also attracted or
“pulled” many immigrants to come. Many newcomers heard about
these benefits. News of these benefits was spread by letters to
relatives, steamship advertisements and industrialists seeking
to recruit laborers.
Religious
Freedom
Greater
Political
Freedom

9. Statue Of
Liberty
Symbol
Open
Immigration

10. Ellis Island,
New York

12. Interior Of
Ellis Island

14. The Melting Pot Theory Americans Italians Irish Jews Greek Russian
Polish
Chinese
Americans

15. “Melting pot” theory – new American culture
Assimilation - The process when a minority group adopts the customs and attitudes of the nation’s culture.

16. Nativist laws passed to limit immigration
Nativism – belief that native-born Americans are superior to immigrants.
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1888
Emergency Quota Act of 1921
Lowered the amount of immigrants admitted to US = lowers immigration by 75%
National Origins Act of 1924
Lowers immigration from Eastern and Southern European Countries

17. The Growth
of the
American
Labor Movement

18. The Changing American Labor Force

19. PROBLEMS for WORKERS No regulation of working conditions
Poor pay, long hours, unhealthy
Dangerous machines: accidents’
TONS of workers available
Increasingly mechanized
No job security
Owners have gov’t. & courts on their
Side
-Women & Children are exploited

20. Child Labor

21. America’s First Labor Unions

22. Knights of Labor
Terence V. Powderly

23. Goals of the Knights End child labor Eight-hour workday. Higher pay
Workers’ cooperatives and factories
Create one large union.
Equal pay for men and women.
Safety codes in the workplace.
Stop contract foreign labor.
Gov’t ownership of utilities
Graduated Income Tax

24. The American Federation of Labor: 1886
Samuel Gompers

25. How the AF of L Would Help the Workers
Union of skilled workers.
Focus: “Bread & butter” issues (wages, hours, working conditions)
Maintained a national strike fund.
Prevented disputes among craft unions.
Mediated disputes between management and labor.
Pushed for closed shops.
Want collective bargaining rights
Want state and federal laws to protect workers

26. International Workers of the World (“Wobblies”)

27. “Big Bill” Haywood of the IWW
Violence was justified to overthrow capitalism.

28. The Hand That Will Rule the World One Big Union
Who: Unskilled Industrial Workers
Western miners
lumbermen
Goals:
single united union of all workers
Voluntary, cooperate human society
How:
Militant agitation
Obstruction of industry
Damages to businesses
Small (60k) - not very successful

29. The Socialists
Eugene V. Debs

30. Who is Debs? Founding Member of IWW Most famous Socialist in America
Supports American Railway Union and Pullman Strike in 1894
Would be sentenced to prison during Pullman Strike and WWI (protested U.S. involvement)
Ran for President from Socialist Party 5 times (1920 from jail)

31. Labor Disputes

32. Labor Unrest:

33. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877

34. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877

35. McCormick Harvesting Machine Co.
Haymarket Riot (1886)
McCormick Harvesting Machine Co.

36. Haymarket Martyrs

37. Homestead Steel Strike (1892)
Homestead Steel Works
The Amalgamated Association of Iron & Steel Workers

38. Big Corporate Profits!

39. The Corporate Cops: Pinkerton Agents

40. A “Company Town”:
Pullman, IL

41. Pullman Cars
A Pullman porter

42. The Pullman Strike of 1894

43. President Grover Cleveland
“If it takes the entire army and navy to deliver a postal card in Chicago, that card will be delivered!”

44. Government by injunction!
The Pullman Strike of 1894
Government by injunction!

45. Impact of Labor Disputes on Unions

46. View Of
Unions
unions + violence + strikes + socialists + immigrants = anarchists

47. Labor Union Membership:
Less than 4% belonged to a union by 1900.

48. The Rise & Decline of Organized Labor

49. THE ULTIMATE GOAL???
Achieve the right to collectively bargain to negotiate a signed contract.
Contract: outlines terms of working conditions

50. WHAT AFFECTED THE SUCCESS OF THE UNIONS?
Diversity of workers
Skilled v. Non-skilled
Public Perception
Fear of Radicalism
Different Unions w/different goals
Power of management was greater

51. Management vs. Labor “Tools” of Management “Tools” of Labor
Non-union: “scabs”
Anti-union pr campaign
Used Pinkertons, militia, Fed. troops
lockout
blacklisting
yellow-dog contracts
court injunctions
open shop
boycotts
sympathy demonstrations
informational picketing
closed shops
organized strikes
“wildcat” strikes

52. Government Action

53. Response to Unfair RR Practices
“DO something!!!” Pressure at state level: Granger laws: RR must establish & post fair rates
Supreme Court: Wabash v. Illinois: laws are unconstitutional: only Congress can control interstate trade
National level: Interstate Commerce Act: est. reasonable rates, no rebates, no rate discrimination (not enforced well: Courts not willing to rule against RR’s)
Sherman Ant-Trust Act