Big Business vs. Labor, 1870-1925

In 1850 a new economic system rose in America, Industrial Capitalism. The rise of Industrial Capitalism brought many Changes to America. Cities and transportation, such as automobiles and railroads, become popular during this time. The three social classes became distinct during this time. The benefits of Industrial Capitalism were increase in production, because the creation of the assembly line. More jobs were created and high salaries for workers. This all created a more controlled economy. Despite the Benefits, there were many problems that came with Industrial Capitalism. The biggest problems were social class inequality and that people were unhappy. There were many groups in the next 100 years that would try to solve these problems; Progressives

Labor union were crucial in the late 1800’s when the workers were working long hours, doing hard work, without any extra pay. Job security (could be fired at any given time) and safety precautions did not exist in this era, jobs in this day was typically a threat to the workers due to the bad working conditions. When the union was formed in 1866 it was not easy, but if the workers understood how it would benefit them it would have been a greater successes. Due to lack of education, the communication between the union and the works was broken. Some of the religious beliefs created a hardship on getting the union passed. One of the unions called the AFL (American Federation of Labor) was created in 1881 that would try to fight for workers’ rights.

In the Gilded Age, big business controlled most aspects of everyday life. As the United States was amid a time of economic growth, big business was growing as well-- contributing to that economic growth, all the while, gaining control and dominance across the nation. With such an influencing power, big business cared less to think about anyone else other than themselves. Due to this corrupt possession of power big business possessed, legislation was passed in their favor with the government wrapped around their fingers. The economy, politics and the lives of most Americans were affected negatively when big business reigned supreme.

The movement in organized labor from 1875 to 1900 to improve the position of workers was unsuccessful because of the inherent weaknesses of unions and the failures of their strikes, the negative public attitudes toward organized labor, widespread government corruption, and the tendency of government to side with big business. After the Civil there was a push to industrialize quickly, and the rushed industrialization was at the expense of the workers as it led to bigger profits for big business and atrocious working conditions for them; conditions that included long working hours, extremely low wages, and the exploitation of children and immigrants.

The Labor Movement’s number one concern is to address problems associated with social inequality. The labor movement was created in order to fight for the rights of labor workers. The goal was to have better wages, safe working conditions, and reasonable working hours. Unions were formed in order to achieve this. However, this was always enough. Workers reached a point where they came together and participated in strikes which the main goal was to have their employers listen to them and come to an agreement.

Imagine your parents died at work when you were a young child, and your family was in poverty. This happened all of the time in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s because of the lack of rights for workers. It was the job of many early labor unions of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s make working conditions for workers better. Early labor unions such as the Knights of Columbus, the American Federation of Labor, and the National Labor Union were all successful in creating rights for workers and making working conditions better. There are many ways that labor unions have affected modern day society.

In the period immediately following World War I, American workers struggled to earn a living as prices rose and wages stagnated, forcing them to seek union support. Labor unions endeavored to represent the working class against their employers and corporations, who refused to increase wages or improve working conditions. In order to combat the capitalist’s immense political clout, unions made their voice heard through strikes. After the war, capitalists linked unions to the mounting communist threat, stressing that strikes undermined capitalism and threatened a republican form of government. As a result, government sided with capital against labor unions and the struggle of the American workers, who had no voice against corporations. This struggle can be exemplified in a correspondence between union leader, Samuel Gompers and bishop William Quayle, published in “The Twenties in Contemporary Commentary: Labor & Capital”. The letters demonstrate that in the 1920’s, labor unions were necessary as a means to overcome capitalist greed and enhanced the ideals of democracy by empowering the working class.

From the ashes of the American Civil War period, the Gilded Age movement emerged into rapid economic growth. From the end of reconstruction in 1877 to the panic of 1893, the American economy nearly doubled in size. The expansion of Industrialization led to growing wages and the urge to work. As new machinery developed, so did the urgency for rapid production of manufactured goods. In this period, new ideas of time being money emerged. Big business men controlled the Gildan age instead of political leaders. Out of the rapid need to gain money and work harder, negative effects such as child labor, women labor, and unfair working conditions appear. In response, the progressivism era emerged. The Progressive movement arose as a response to negative effects of industrialization such as child labor and unemployment. Reformers longed to regulate private and large industries to strengthen working conditions for both employers and consumers Progressivism was an important political and social reformation from 1890-1920 that aimed to make major political and social reforms in effort to progress society after the negative outcomes of industrialization.

After the civil war finished American economy went through a period of extra industrial growth. People had started moving into the cities from rural areas, in hopes of finding work in the factories. As a result Population of New York & Chicago went over a million residents.(Rosenzweig, Pg 23). But in these newly established industries, the owners were looking into maximizing their profits anyway they could, so they cut the workers’ wages as low as they could. The American dream of “Artisan Republicanism”, basically meant that through one's perseverance and handwork, someday you could become your own master. But American workers realized that this dream of theirs was quickly fading away because working in these factories meant that they could

The labor movement in the United States began due to the need of the common interest of workers to protect themselves from their employers. Those who worked in the industrial sector, organized labor unions were formed to fight for better wages, reasonable hours, and safer working conditions for the employees. Understanding the history of the labor movement in the United States from the Industrial Revolution will allow for a better understanding of the purpose of the labor movement. Incorporating how the following theories: The Mainstream Economics School, The Human Resource Management School, The Industrial Relations School, and The Critical Industrial Relations School the labor issues in the early periods will allow future organizations to address issues in a more precise manner.

In 1889, Joseph Kepler released a cartoonist called “Bosses of the Senate” (Document 13.3). In this cartoon, we see the relationship between the rich and richer. It showed the public how the monopolies were taking over the senates. These large corporate companies used wealth to control the government decision. These corruptions combined began to from “trust.” With these “trust”, they could do exclusive dealing, business arrangements, predatory pricing, and control the senators that were appointed by them. This was a major disadvantage for this era, it spilt the poor and rich from each other. Society became dividend from the two. This issue pushed of into the second industrial revolution that challenge their choices of change from the

Capitalists controlled prices, created ways to increase self profit, and dominated the work field they were in. For example, John D. Rockefeller was in lead of the oil industry through the invention of a trust (Keene, 78). Trusts were ways to combine companies in the same industry under one single head. The government did enact policies like the Sherman Anti- Trust Act, but the vague wording of the document was not enough. The controversial issue of trusts made Americans fear capitalism; these trusts would enable industries to eliminate competition therefore, making prices escalate (Document J). Federal Government should have distributed power evenly to avoid this unfair system that made it almost impossible for middle class citizens to make

Seeing that the United States' original plan for reconstruction would have been theoretically more effective; the reconstruction that occurred had it's good and flawed impacts on the country. As said before this reconstruction was good, to an extent, but it was flawed in many ways, and it led to further conflict and tension throughout the country even until today. Reconstruction is the root of many problems including the industrial bust, and the future of a divided nation; parts of America that prove reconstruction to have been ineffective. Shortly after the Civil War came the beginning of an industrial boom, it marked the transformation of the United States into a modern era. This period of time was essential for the socio-economic change occurring in the United States because of the industrial boom.

After the Civil War, the United States went through a period of rapid industrialization which affected the nation dramatically. Industrial growth, the spread of railroads, the rise of big businesses, and the appearance of labor unions during these decades created a modern industrial economy, and American workers and farmers faced new challenges in adapting to these changes.

The decades after the Civil War rapidly changed the face of the United States. The rapid industrialization of the nation changed us from generally agrarian to the top industrial power in the world. Business tycoons thrived during this time, forging great business empires with the use of trusts and pools. Farmers moved to the cities and into the factories, living off wages and changing the face of the workforce. This rapid industrialization created wide gaps in society, and the government, which had originally taken a hands off approach to business, was forced to step in.