Unit 6: Topic 7 - Labor in the Gilded Age Flashcards
What techniques did capitalists use to break labor strikes and defeat unions?
Capitalists broke strikes and held power over labor unions by…
- Enforcing lockouts: closing a factory to break a labor movement before it could get organized.
- Maintaining blacklists: names of pro-union workers circulated among employers.
- Requiring yellow-dog contracts: workers being told, as a condition for employment, that they must sign an agreement not to join a union.
- Replacing strikers with strikebreakers, or scabs – unemployed persons desperate for jobs.
- Calling in private guards (eg. Pinkertons) and state militia to put down strikes.
- Obtaining court injunctions (a court order to stop a strike) against strikes.
What was the Great Railroad Strike of 1877?
In 1877, railroad companies cut wages to save money during a recession, so unionized railroad workers went on strike to protest. The strike spread to eleven states and shut down more than 60% of the nation’s railroads. When the strike broke out in violence, President Hayes sent in federal troops to restore order, but over 100 people died.
What tactics do labor unions use to fight for fair treatment of workers?
Labor unions have used a variety of tactics to fight for fair treatment of workers. Some of these tactics include collective bargaining, strikes, boycotts, slowdowns, and political action.
What was the significance of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877?
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was a significant turning point in the development of the American labor movement, as it helped to inspire the formation of more labor unions and increased support for their goals.
It was also a catalyst for the adoption of new labor laws and regulations, as the government and employers sought to prevent similar strikes in the future.
What is a labor union?
A labor union is a group of workers who have joined together to advocate for their rights and interests in the workplace. They work to negotiate collective bargaining agreements with employers, which outline the terms and conditions of employment, such as wages, hours, and working conditions.
What was the Pullman Strike of 1894?
In light of the Panic of 1893, George Pullman, founder of the Pullman Factory, cut workers’ wages. The Pullman Strike started outside Chicago at the Pullman sleeping car manufacturing company and quickly grew into a national railroad strike involving the American Railway Union, the Pullman Company, railroads across the nation, and the federal government.
What was Eugene V. Debs’ role in the Pullman Strike of 1894?
Eugene V. Debs, leader of the American Railway Union, called for his members to refrain from operating any trains that used Pullman cars. When the strike was declared illegal by a court injunction, and President Cleveland ordered federal troops to quell the strikers, Debs was arrested. In jail, Debs read Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto, adopting socialist ideals.
What was the first American labor union?
The National Labor Union, founded in 1866, was the first attempt to create a national labor group in the United States. As a skilled labor union, members fought mainly for higher wages and an 8-hour work day.
Who were the Knights of Labor?
The Knights of Labor was a labor union founded by Terence Powderly in 1869. The Knights organized unskilled and skilled workers, campaigned for an eight hour workday, and aspired to form a cooperative society in which laborers owned the industries in which they worked. They also fought for child labor regulations and fought against trusts and monopolies.
What was the American Federation of Labor?
The American Federation of Labor, founded by Samuel Gompers in 1886, was a craft labor union believing in “bread and butter” unionism, meaning they fought for higher wages, less hours, and better working conditions.
Who were the Pinkertons?
The Pinkertons were a private security group hired by capitalists either to enforce lockouts or breakup strikes.
What happened in the Haymarket Square Riot?
The Haymarket Square Riot, also known as the Haymarket Affair, was a violent confrontation that took place on May 4, 1886 in Chicago, Illinois. It began as a peaceful labor demonstration involving members of the Knights of Labor in support of an eight-hour workday, but ended in violence when a bomb was thrown into the square. In the mayhem that followed, seven Chicago policemen and four citizens were killed. Later it was discovered that the bomber was likely an anarchist unaffiliated with the Knights of Labor.
What was the significance of the Haymarket Square Riot?
Due to the Haymarket Square Riot, the public came to associate the Knights of Labor with anarchism and violence, and membership in the organization collapsed. The sentiment regarding labor unions shifted, and they were seen as violent and radical.
What occurred during the Homestead Strike?
In 1892, manager of the Homestead Steelworks factory Henry Clay Frick—motivated by a desire to break the union of striking skilled steel workers—locked out the members of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers. He hired the Pinkertons to come in as scabs to his factory to break the strike. On July 6th, gunfire broke out between striking workers and the Pinkertons, and after sixteen deaths and several more wounded on both sides, the Pinkertons surrendered. However, the Pennsylvania governor eventually dispatched 6,000 state militiamen who marched into town, surrounded the steelworks, and reopened the plant, defeating the union.
