1865 - 1914 Flashcards
What was the impact of industrialisation on labour conditions?
- Rapid factory growth led to increased demand of workers
- but poor conditions: 12 hour workdays, unsafe environments, and child labour.
- Workers lacked legal protections and job security.
Why did trade unions lack legal recognition before 1900?
- No federal laws protected union rights
- Employers could fire union members
- courts often saw unions as illegal conspiracies.
How did the government suppress trade unions?
- Courts issued injunctions against strikes
- presidents deployed troops
What Supreme Court cases favoured employers over workers?
- Lochner v. New York (1905) struck down work-hour laws
- In re Debs (1895) upheld the use of injunctions to break strikes.
When and what was Santa Clara County v Southern Pacific Railroad?
- 1886
- SC ruled that businesses were considered ‘persons’ under the 14th amendment
- made it harder for the gov to regulate
How did the Sherman Antitrust Act harm unions?
- Passed in 1890
- it labelled unions as ‘restraints of trade.’
- Courts used it to break strikes and penalise union leaders.
How did employers suppress unions?
- Used blacklists
- Yellow Dog contracts (anti-union pledges)
- hired strikebreakers (scabs).
How did the media portray unions and strikes?
- Mostly anti-union
- portraying strikers as violent anarchists, especially after the Haymarket Riot.
What was the role of the Pinkerton Detective Agency?
- Hired by employers to break strikes, often violently
- such as during the Homestead Strike.
How did racial and ethnic divisions weaken unions?
- Many unions excluded Black, Asian, and immigrant workers
- reducing worker solidarity.
What were some early state efforts to protect workers?
- Massachusetts set a minimum age of 10 for factory work in 1869.
- NY’s 1883 inspection law had weak enforcement.
- Illinois passed a safety law in 1893 requiring factory owners to have safe conditions
How did unions benefit workers before 1900?
Strong unions like the AFL secured modest gains like reduced hours and higher wages for skilled workers.
What caused the Great Railroad Strike and when was it?
- 1877
- 10% wage cuts during an economic depression
- triggered nationwide strikes that shut down rail traffic.
How did the government respond to the Great Railroad Strike?
- President Hayes sent federal troops.
- Over 100 workers were killed, setting a precedent for federal suppression.
What happened at the Haymarket Affair and what was its impact?
- 1886
- A bomb killed 7 police at a Chicago rally.
- The media blamed unions
- lead to public backlash and the decline of the Knights of Labour.
Who were the Knights of Labour and why did they decline?
- A large inclusive union (founded 1869).
- They collapsed after being linked to the violence at the Haymarket Riot.
When and why was the American Federation of Labour (AFL) founded?
- Founded in 1886.
- It accepted only skilled workers and focused on wages, hours, and conditions, avoiding politics.
What was the AFL’s strategy and success by 1900?
- Membership reached 500,000.
- It won better pay and hours for skilled workers
- became the dominant union.
What caused the Homestead Strike ?
- 1892
- Carnegie Steel cut wages.
- Workers went on strike
- clashed violently with Pinkertons hired by manager Henry Frick.
What was the outcome of the Homestead Strike?
- The union lost.
- Strike leaders were arrested
- union presence in steel collapsed until the 1930s.
What caused the Pullman Strike ?
- 1894
- Pullman cut wages but didn’t lower rents in company housing.
- Workers joined the American Railway Union under Eugene Debs.
What happened during and after the Pullman Strike?
- Rail traffic halted nationwide.
- President Cleveland sent 12,000 troops.
- Debs was arrested
- Supreme Court upheld federal intervention in In re Debs (1895).
What was the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire?
- 1911
- A fire in a NY garment factory killed 146 workers
- mostly young immigrant women
- due to locked exits to prevent theft
What was the impact of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire?
- Sparked public outrage.
- Led to the New York Factory Investigating Commission
- major workplace safety reforms.
