Unions Machines slowly began to replace workers in the late 1800s Working conditions were terrible Workers breathed in lint, dust, and toxic fumes Machines lacked safety devices and caused high numbers of deaths and injuries

Unions Workers began to make decent wages but the division between the wealthy and the working class caused resentment among workers In 1900 the average worker worked 59 hours per week

Unions Between 1865-1897 deflation caused prices to fall which increased the buying power of workers’ wages Workers decided that the only way to improve working conditions was to organize unions

Early Unions There were 2 types of industrial workers in the 1800s, craft workers and common laborers Craft workers had special skills (i.e.: molders, shoe makers etc…) Craft workers made higher wages and had more control over their time at work

Early Unions Craft workers began to form trade unions (unions for people with specific skills) By 1873 there were 32 national trade unions

Industry Opposes Unions Owners of large corporations opposed industrial unions (unions that united all craft workers and common laborers) because it hurt their rights Companies tried to prevent unions from forming by requiring workers to take oaths or sign contracts promising not to join a union. They hired detectives to identify union organizers

Industry Opposes Unions Workers who tried to organize unions were often fired and blacklisted as troublemakers so they could not get a job in their trade anywhere unless they changed location and name If workers formed unions, companies would use lockouts to break the union (locking workers out of the property If workers went on strike the company would hire strike breakers (scabs) to replace the workers on strike

Political and Social Opposition Courts often ruled that strikes were “conspiracies in restraint of trade” Marxism was popular at this time Marxist believe that the basic force shaping capitalist society was the class struggle between workers and owners. Marxist argue that eventually workers will revolt, seize control of the factories and overthrow the government . Then the government would seize all private property and create a socialist society where wealth is evenly divided

Political and Social Opposition While many union members at this time were Marxists few of them were anarchist who believed society did not need government

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 the Panic of 1873 struck forcing many companies to cut wages Railroad companies cut worker wages and the first nationwide labor protest took place. Railroad workers in West Virginia walked off the job and blocked the tracks as word spread railroad workers across the U.S. walked off the job Angry strikers smashed equipment, tore up tracks, and blocks rail service President Hayes ordered the army to restore order but by the time the strike ended 100 people were dead and millions of $ worth of property was destroyed

The Knights of Labor The Knights of Labor was the first nationwide industrial union They called for an 8 hour workday, equal pay for women, the abolitions of child labor, and the creation of worker owned factories The Knights of Labors rarely used strikes but opted to boycott and use arbitration By the 1880s the Knights of Labor used a strike to keep Jay Gould from cutting railroad workers’ wages and membership of the Knights of Labor jumped from 100,000 to 700,000

The Haymarket Riot The movement for an 8 hour workday grew and workers across the U.S. agreed to strike on May 1. By May 3 strikers clashed with police in Chicago leaving 1 striker dead The next day anarchists organized a meeting in Chicago’s Haymarket Square to protest the killing 3,000 people gathered to hear the protest and speeches When the police entered the square someone threw a bomb and the police opened fire. Workers shot back and 7 police officers and 4 workers were killed The Police arrested 8 people and 7 were German anarchists The incident hurt the Knights of Labor Union

The Pullman Strike In 1893 railroad workers created the American Railway Union under the leadership of Eugene V. Debs One of the companies unionized was the Pullman Palace Car Company The Pullman Company required workers to live in the company town and buy goods from the company stores When a depression hit the U.S. in 1893, the Pullman company slashed wages making it hard for workers to pay rent and shop at the company stores.

The Pullman Strike Pullman fired the workers who complained and a strike broke out This strike stopped the railroads and determined to break the union, Pullman plotted with the government to attach U.S. mail cars to the Pullman rail cars..if strikes continued it would then be affecting U.S. mail (a violation of federal law) The federal government issued an injunction (formal court order) forcing the strike to end

The American Federation of Labor In 1886 delegates from over 20of the nation’s trade unions organized the American Federation of Labor under the leadership of Samuel Gompers Gompers believed that unions should stay out of politics Under Gompers the AFL had 3 goals…first it tried to convince companies to recognize unions, 2nd it pushed for closed shops (companies could only hire union workers), 3rd it promoted an 8 hour work day It became the largest union in the U.S.

Working Women By 1900 women made up more than 18 percent of the labor force Working women were domestic servants, clerks, teachers, burses, and secretaries Women were paid less than men even when they performed the same jobs In 1903 women joined the Women’s Trade Union League and pushed for and 8 hour work day, a minimum wage, and an end to child labor and evening work.

Europeans Flood Into the U.S. By the 1890s more than half of all immigrants in the U.S. were eastern and southern Europeans (Greeks, Slavs, poles, Russians, and Armenians) Many Europeans came to the U.S. for jobs, to avoid military service, and religious persecution European countries made migrating easy by allowing immigrants to take their savings. Moving to the U.S. offered a chance for Europeans to break away from the class system and move to a democratic nation

The Atlantic Voyage Most immigrants came to the U.S. in steerage (the most basic and cheapest accommodations on a steamship) After the 14 day journey passengers arrived at Ellis Island (a tiny island in New York’s Harbor)

Ellis Island Ellis Island is where immigrants were processed. In Ellis Island’s enormous hall, crowds of immigrants filed past the doctor for an initial inspection Newcomers who failed the inspection might be separated from their families and returned to Europe

Ethnic Cities Most immigrants settled in major cities Immigrants lived in neighborhoods that were often separated into ethnic groups How well immigrants adjusted depended partly on how quickly they learned English and adapted to American culture

Asian Immigration to America By the 1850s China’s population had reach about 430 million and the country suffered from sever unemployment, poverty, and famine In 1848 discovery of gold in California began to lure the Chinese to the U.S. In 1850 the Taiping Rebellion erupted in China causing over 20 million deaths Chinese escaped to the U.S. and settled in the West

Asian Immigration to America The Japanese also immigrated to the U.S. In January 1910 California opened barracks on Angel Island to accommodate the Asian immigrants. Sometimes they waited there for months awaiting their approval to the U.S. by way of court hearings.

The Resurgence of Nativism Eventually the wave of immigration led to increased feelings of nativism on the part of Americans Nativism is an extreme dislike for immigrants by native born people and a desire to limit immigration

Prejudice Against Newcomers The American Protective Association claimed to have 500,000 members and were committed to stop immigration In the West the Workingman’s Party of California tried to fight Chinese immigration by winning legislative seats in Congress and trying to write laws to prevent immigration

The Impact of the Anti-Immigration Movement Prejudice against immigrants led to the passage of laws preventing convicts, poor, or the disabled from entering the U.S. The Chinese Exclusion Act barred Chinese immigration for 10 years and prevented Chinese already in the U.S. from ever becoming U.S. citizens this act was renewed in 1902 and wasn’t repealed until 1943

Americans Migrate to the Cities Most of the immigrants who poured into the U.S. in the late 1890s lacked the money to buy farms and the education for better jobs As a result the stayed in the major cities working long hours for little pay in growing factories Many rural Americans began moving to the cities for better paying jobs Cities had much to offer: bright lights, running water, plumbing, and things to do

The New Urban Environment As millions flooded the city, engineers and architects developed new approaches to housing and transportation Land prices soared so building grew upward instead of outward creating the skyscraper Louis Sullivan designed sky-scrappers By 1873 cities installed cable cars which were pulled along tracks by underground cables Engineer Frank J. Sprague developed the electric trolley car Major cites experiments with mass transit by creating subways and elevated railroads

Separation by Class In the growing cities the wealthy and working class lived in different parts of town The wealthy tended to live in the heart of the big city in million dollar mansions The middle class could live comfortably in the suburbs The majority of American city dwellers lived in tenements (multi-family apartments)

Urban Problems City living posed threats such as crime, violence, fire, disease (typhoid, cholera), and pollution From 1880-1900 the murder rate jumped sharply from 25 per million to over 100 per million Alcohol contributed to violent crime

Urban Politics The political machine (an informal political group) formed to help new city dwellers find jobs, housing, food, heat, and police protection in exchange for party votes George Plunkitt became a powerful party boss of the political machine in New York and gained votes during election day form helping immigrants

Graft and Fraud Many political machine bosses grew rich as a result of graft Party bosses would except bribes from contractors who were supposed to compete for contracts to build streets, sewers, and buildings. Corrupt bosses sold permits to friends to operate public utilities

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall was New York’s democrat political machine William M. “Boss” Tweed was the leader of Tammany Hall in the 1860s and 70s His corruption led him to go to prison in 1874

A Changing Culture Mark Twain and Charles Warner wrote a novel together entitled the Gilded Age. Historians adopted the terms and applied it to the 1870-1900 This era was a time of marvels in industrial growth but beneath the surface lay corruption, poverty, crime, and great wealth and poverty

The Idea of Individualism One of the strongest beliefs of the era was individualism Many Americans firmly believed that no matter how humble their origins they could rise in society and go as far as their talents and commitment would take them

Horatio Alger Horatio Alger was a minister from Massachusetts who wrote more than 100 “rags to riches” novels in which a poor person goes to the big city and becomes successful

Social Darwinism Herbert Spencer applied Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection to human society Spencer argued that human society also evolved through competitions and natural selection He argued that society got better because only the fittest people survived His views became known as Social Darwinism “survival of the fittest”

Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth Andrew Carnegie believed in the Social Darwinism He argued however that those who profited from society owed it something in return Carnegie created the Gospel of Wealth Philosophy This Philosophy said that the wealthy should engage in philanthropy (using their great wealth to further social progress)

Realism A new movement in art and literature attempted to portray people realistically instead of romantically Pop Culture changed as people had more money to spend Saloons boomed because they offered free toilets, water for horses, free lunch, newspapers for customers and of course alcohol Amusement Parks such as Coney Island offered water slides and railroad rides for just a nickel Baseball became famous and the first salaried team was the Cincinnati Red Stockings. Vaudeville and Ragtime echoed the hectic pace of city life

Henry George on Progress and Poverty Henry George wrote Progress and Poverty where he argued that Land was the basis of wealth and people could grow wealthy just by waiting for land prices to rise. He proposed a single tax on this unearned wealth to make society equal His theories were flawed but led the movement to question social Darwinism and laissez faire economics

Reform Darwinism Lester Frank Ward published Dynamic Sociology and argued that human beings were different from other animals in nature because they had the ability to think ahead and make plans He insisted that people succeeded not because of their ability to compete but because of their ability to cooperate He believed that competition was wasteful and that the government could cure poverty not competition

Looking Backward In 1888 Edward Bellamy published Looking Backward (a novel about a young man who falls asleep in 1877 and awakes in 2000 to find that the U.S. has become a perfect society with no crime, poverty, or politics, and the government shares all the wealth and controls business

Naturalism Naturalist challenged the idea of Social Darwinism and Realism suggesting that some people failed in life simply because they were caught up in circumstances they could not control

The Social Gospel Washington Gladden tried to apply Christian law to social problems Him and another minister named Walter Rauschenbusch argued that the Church must either condemn the world and seek to change it or tolerate the world and conform to it

The Salvation Army and the YMCA Adopting a military style organization a Christian Mission became known as the Salvation Army. It offered practical aid and religious counseling to the urban poor The Young Man’s Christian Association (YMCA) organized Bible studies, prayer meetings, citizenship training, group activities and facilities such as libraries, gyms, swimming pools, auditoriums, and low cost hotel rooms for those in need

Revivalism and Dwight L. Moody Dwight Moody was the President of the YMCA in Chicago. He organized revival meetings and introduced the gospel hymn into worship services He believed the way to help the poor was not by providing them with services but by redeeming their souls and reforming their character

The Spread of Schools Public school was crucial to immigrant children. Immigrant children participated in Americanization (a process where children usually become knowledgeable about American Culture)

Education for the Workplace City schools helped immigrants assimilate and helped future workers prepare for jobs Colleges also provided opportunity to young Americans and enrollment grew rapidly Free public libraries also made education available to city dwellers