Gilded age facts Flashcards
What date were the Molly Maguires and what were they?
1873
They were coal miners who were alleged terrorists from rumours spread by coal bosses, the rumours may have been spread because of lots of strikes.
Coal miners quickly became unpopular.
Coal miners performed dangerous work for very low wages.
Mine owner Franklin Gowen hired the Pinkerton Detective Agency to send an undercover employee to spy on the miners.
The detective recorded the murder of 50 men, many the managers of coal mines and at least 20 molly maguires were put to death.
What was the Haymarket affair and when was it?
1886.
A protest outside a plant had resulted in a person being killed and was viewed as police brutality and so a protest was organised in Chicago.
Radical speakers addressed a crowd of 1500. It was peaceful but became confrontational when police tried to disperse the crowd.
A bomb was thrown and police fired into the crowd, 7 police were killed and four civilians, more than 100 injured.
Blamed on the KoL who never recovered and the mood towards trade unions worsened.
The AFL formed at the height of public hysteria.
What was the Homestead strike and when was it?
1892.
Strike between Carnegie Steel Plant and the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers lasting 143 days.
Frick was determined to cut wages and break the AA, the AA asked for a pay rise and Frick countered with a 22% wage decrease. 3,000 met and decided to strike, 29 days were given to reach an agreement or the union would no longer be recognised.
Workers were locked out of the plant and workers divided into military style unions and replacement workers were found from other cities.
Pinkerton detectives were brought into the mill and killed two and wounded eleven. The crowd responded and killed two and wounded twelve.
Pennsylvania state military occupied the plant for 95 days and 16 leaders were arrested.
Berkman stabbed and shot Frick and was arrested for attempted murder.
What were the consequences of the Homestead Strike in 1892?
AA nearly bankrupt
The strike broke the AA as a force, membership fell from 24,000 in 1891 to 10,000 in 1894.
Carnegie steel had no union for the next 40 years.
By 1900 no steel plant in Pennsylvania remained unionised.
What was the Pullman Strike and when was it?
1894.
Pullman Palace Car Company made sleeping ‘parlour’ cars leased to almost all rail companies in the USA.
Pullman cut wages by 25% and 1/3 of the workers were laid off but the same rent in the industrial town was charged.
The American Railway Union were militant and workers joined it, strike headed by Eugene Debs.
They refused to operate trains using Pullman cars and this brought most trains to a standstill.
The Attorney-General issued an order restraining anyone from interfering with mail cars.
Companies still resisted moving trains without Pullman Cars.
President Cleveland sent in federal troops to break the strike and Eugene Debs was arrested.
What was public opinion of unions during the time?
They had bad opinion of unions. Seen as violent.
What happened in the economy during the Gilded Age?
The economy boomed.
In particular railways, mining, iron and steel and the financial sector grew.
What was the Sherman Anti-Trust Act? When?
1890.
Promoted economic fairness and competitiveness and regulated interstate commerce.
Prohibited trusts and outlawed monopolistic business practices, making them illegal in an effort to increase competitiveness.
What did the rights of workers depend on at the start of the period?
They were completely down to what they could negotiate with the employer.
What were yellow-dog contracts?
A promise to they employer that you wouldn’t join a union or act in collaboration with other employees.
Why was the freeing of slaves an issue for the unity of the workforce?
They often would work for lower wages, undermining other workers and allowing them to be exploited.
