1. Do Now
How would you react if you had similar working conditions to factory workers in the late 1800s?

2. I. Labor Unions
U.S.5.03: Assess the impact of labor unions on industry and the lives of workers.
U.S.5.04: Describe the changing role of government in economic and political affairs.

3. A. Working Conditions Low pay, bad working conditions and long hours.
Heavy use of child labor
Some kids started working at the age of 5
Example: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
What can you do to improve these awful working conditions?

4. B. Creation of Labor Unions
Definition of labor union: group of workers united to improve the economic and social well-being of its members.
Methods:
Collective Bargaining – negotiate employment contract as a group
Main reason people joined labor unions – better chance of higher pay
Mediation/Arbitration – if negotiations fail, the two sides come together and use a third party to help settle the issue
Strikes – workers refuse to work until there is positive change

5. C. Types of Labor Unions
Trade unions – unions for any type of worker, less skilled workers
Craft Unions – unions for people working in the same profession/practicing the same craft.

6. C. Types of Labor Unions
American Federation of Labor (AFL) – one of the 1st craft unions.
Focus: wages, working hours and working conditions.
Used strikes, boycotts of products and collective bargaining to try to get what it wanted.
Wanted a “closed shop” – employers could only hire union members.
Knights of Labor – national trade union
At one point had over 700,000 members – tried to get every worker to join.
Supported an eight-hour work day, the end of child labor, and equal pay for equal work.
Tried to work in politics and educate people.

7. D. Response of Big Business
Businesses didn’t like labor unions because they made them lose money with strikes or higher wages.
Tactics:
Yellow-dog contract – made workers sign contract saying they wouldn’t join a union.
Lockouts – not allow employees to come back to work.
Blacklist- give the workers on strike a bad reputation.
Injunctions – court orders to stop strikes.
Scabs – replaced workers who were on strike.

8. E. Famous Strikes
The Great Railroad Strike (1877) – 80,000 workers nationwide; the federal government sent troops to end the strike and left over men dead.
Impact: showed businesses they could get help from the federal gov’t to end strikes

9. E. Famous Strikes
Haymarket Square Riot –Knights of Labor organized 8-hour workday protest in Chicago.
A separate protest threw a bomb into a crowd of police officers, killing 6 of them.
Impact: turned public opinion against labor unions and effectively ended the Knights of Labor.

10. E. Famous Strikes
Homestead Strike – steel workers protested for better working conditions and pay.
Had some violence, and the public still saw it as the unions causing problems.
Carnegie locked out his workers and blacklisted them from working in the steel industry.

11. E. Famous Strikes Pullman Strike – 120,000 railroad workers.
Federal government response: issued an injunction against the strike and sent in troops to end it.
Impact: set precedent for getting the courts to help big businesses.

12. Stop and Summarize
Based on the famous strikes you just learned about, how did the federal government usually respond when labor problems or strikes occurred?

13. Guided Practice: Cartoon
Using the information from lecture, make a cartoon that shows labor union methods and business responses.
You can use one of the historical examples we talked about or you can create your own scenario.

14. II. Political Corruption

15. A. Government Approach to Business
“Laissez-faire” economics: hands-off approach
Idea that government should not interfere with the work of businesses

16. B. Result: Corruption
Spoils system/patronage – giving people a government job in exchange for some type of favor or money
Graft – use your political power to make money
Ex. Giving a contractor money to build a park or building if they would give you a certain amount of money
political machines - Group of people in control of local politics.
Would give immigrants jobs and services in exchange for their political support
Made use of graft and the spoils system to stay in power.

17. B. Examples of Corruption
Whiskey Ring
Federal government officials set high liquor taxes and took the money
Used it for Republican Party campaigns
Tammany Hall – video
Boss Tweed stole in between 50 and 200 million dollars from New York City

18. Thomas Nast Political Cartoons

19. Stop and Think
How would you solve the political corruption we discussed yesterday?

20. II. Government Changes

21. Government Changes
Use a graphic organizer to organize the next parts of notes. Your chart should look something like this:
Government Reform Name
Problem
Solution

22. A. Pendleton Civil Service Act
Addressed the corruption with the spoils system/jobs in the civil service (government jobs)
Required people who wanted government jobs to take the civil service exam to see if they were qualified enough
Once appointed, government workers couldn’t be fired for political reasons
Impact: got rid of the spoils system and corruption, made the civil service more professional.

23. B. Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Sherman Antitrust Act – tried to break up the monopolies.
Government didn’t want monopolies to be able to charge people whatever they wanted.
Gave Congress the power to break up any company that was trying to become a monopoly.
Effect: companies worked around the law and still were able to control prices, but clearly showed the government’s concern with big business.

24. C. Secret Ballot
Secret Ballot – trying to solve the political machine problem
Before, who you voted for was published – political machines would know who to reward for voting for them and who to punish.
Secret ballot eliminated some of the patronage and pressure on people to vote a certain way

25. D. Progressive Presidents
President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt:
Wanted Americans to have a “Square Deal”
Became known as a “trust buster” through the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and making “gentlemen’s agreements” with companies to keep things fair.
Created the National Parks system and the U.S. Forest Service to protect America’s natural resources.

26. Exit Ticket
1) Corruption in government led to a call by progressives for reform in government. Which of the following were some of the reasons for this corruption?
A. Political machines, the spoils system, graft
B. The Pendleton Act, the adoption of the Australian ballot, the referendum
C. The secret practices of the Mugwumps, and the implementation of the referendum.
D. Thomas Nast, the over-enforcement of the Sherman Anti-trust Act, and the failure of Tammany Hall.

27. Exit Ticket
2) For workers, the primary advantage of membership in a labor union is:
a. The ability to conduct lock-outs.
b. Decreased employment levels.
c. Decreased costs of goods and services.
d. Collective bargaining power

28. Exit Ticket
3) How did the government’s role in economic and political affairs change during this era? Explain how it changed and use one example to support your answer.