Bread And Roses Summary

History class very well. Since this history class begins with the Reconstruction period, this book gives a better understanding of what happened during the late 1800s, especially after the Civil War. It also mentions a couple of famous people that are discussed in the course of this U.S. history class. For example, near the beginning of construction for the fair, Larson includes a section about “imported workers” (119) from Italy and how these Italian immigrants being in work upsets union workers which ends up in a fight between the two. After that, Larson includes that the union workers ask the fair’s counsel that they “limit the workday to eight hours, pay union-scale wages, and hire union workers before all other” (119). This is largely significant to this history class because worker strikes were, at the time, a large political issue that demanded change. Larson also makes note of the economic crisis in 1893 and how that affected fair workers by talking about the wage, and worker cuts made by George Pullman after the fair closed because there was no longer a huge need for railcars. This eventually leads into the Pullman Strike which was also discussed near the beginning of this class. Therefore, this book correlates nicely with the material we are learning or have learned in class, and Larson’s book gives readers a better perspective on what life really was like in the city bustle of the

In the first half of the 19th Century the working class in the newly industrializing American society suffered many forms of exploitation. The working class of the mid-nineteenth century, with constant oppression by the capitalist and by the division between class, race, and ethnicity, made it difficult to form solidarity. After years of oppression and exploitation by the ruling class, the working class struck back and briefly paralyzed American commerce. The strike, which only lasted a few weeks, was the spark needed to ignite a national revolt by the working class with the most violent labor upheavals of the century.

Life in the early 1900’s wasn’t easy. Competition for jobs was at an all time high, especially in New York City. Immigrants were flooding in and needed to find work fast, even if that meant in the hot, overcrowded conditions of garment factories. Conditions were horrid and disaster was inevitable, and disaster did strike in March, 1911. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York set on fire, killing 146 workers. This is an important event in US history because it helped accomplish the tasks unions and strikes had tried to accomplish years earlier, It improved working conditions in factories nationwide and set new safety laws and regulations so that nothing as catastrophic would happen again. The workplace struggles became public after

The Pullman Strike of 1894 was the first national strike in American history and it came about during a period of unrest with labor unions and controversy regarding the role of government in business.5 The strike officially started when employees organized and went to their supervisors to ask for a lowered rent and were refused.5 The strike had many different causes. For example, workers wanted higher wages and fewer working hours, but the companies would not give it to them; and the workers wanted better, more affordable living quarters, but the companies would not offer that to them either. These different causes created an interesting and controversial end to the Pullman strike. Because of this, questions were raised about the strike

In the late 1800s and the early 1900s, labor was anything but easy. Factory workers faced long hours, low pay, high unemployment fears, and poor working conditions during this time. Life today is much easier in comparison to the late 1800s. Americans have shorter days, bigger pay and easier working conditions. Not comparable to how life is today, many riots sparked, and citizens began to fight for equal treatment. Along with other important events, the Haymarket Riot, the Pullman Strike, and the Homestead strike all play a vital role in illustrating labor’s struggle to gain fair and equitable treatment during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The ensuing conflict, between labor vs. capital, during the late 1800s initiated a struggle of power in the workforce between the rich-industrialists (or corporate leaders) and the middle-class/lower-class workers. The Capitalists had intervened with the protests orchestrated by the workers, ensuring that the power remains with them. The strategies of the industrialists and the unique ways of protesting from the workers, contributes to spur a vigorous argument between the employers and their employees. The workers tried their best to ameliorate their working conditions by forming numerous unions, trying to fix currency (gold to paper) to economically help themselves, refusing to go to work, resorting to violence and non-violence, etc. However, the Corporate leaders kept an upper hand and dissolved the workers’ ambitions by hiring scabs, creating a strong relationship with the military (Pullman strike), controlling and fixing policies at work, hiring immigrants for cheap labor, etc. Throughout the late 1800s, the corporate leaders have been able to successfully prevent workers who had resorted to: forming unions, protests (ex. Pullman strike and Homestead strike), violence (ex. Haymarket Sq. Riot), etc., from achieving a radical solution to the workers issues with the management by using several different strategies including but not limited to: hiring scabs/immigrants in the Homestead strike, using government support in the Pullman strike and keeping the power on their side

After the civil war, up until the early 1900s, the need for a larger workforce grew as industrialization expanded. Samuel Slater brought the industrial revolution from England, and even since then, there were people trying to get better working conditions. Due to the growth in population by immigrants and expansion of industrialization, the working conditions became worse and worse, causing workers to suffer. Many people fought to solve this problem and changed many American’s lives for the better.

Kracha portrays the two distinct classes in America as “it’s run just like any other country. In Europe your emperors and grand dukes own everything and over here it’s your millionaires and your trust” (Bell 66). Specifically, the May Day Strike where the working class rose against the owners in order to receive eight hour work days on May 1, 1886, where numerous workers left business all over the nation. Unfortunately, on May 3. 1886 violence broke out against the strikers and the police resulting in two strikers killed and many wounded. Violence also occurred in the Homestead strike resulting in “ten men were dead, seven of them steelworkers, and sixty wounded” (Bell 42). These protests by working men for their rights ultimately always ended in violence were the government had to break up the

After the war, Canadian factories that manufactured war supplies were permanently closed. This produced a lot of unemployment and bankruptcy. The cost to live was increasing dramatically and many people (who were still employed) could not compete with the inflation.(CBC, N/A, 1). WW1 veterans who had returned home after the war found that the wages were far too low.(School Work Helpers, 2016, 1). Some people wished to be employed, while others wished for better working conditions.(CBC, N/A, 2). On May 15, 1919, metal and building workers and the trades and labor council declared a strike. In a few hours, 30,000 left their jobs to participate in the strike.(Reilly, 2006, 3). One Big Union (OBG) was designed to speak for the workers.(School Work Helpers, 2016, 1). The House Of Commons had modified the Immigration Act so that any individual who was not born in Canada would be deported.(School Work Helpers, 2016, 2). The government feared that this strike would create a revolution, so they interfered. Workers were told to either go back to work or be fired.(Reilly, 2006, 6). On June 21, 1919, otherwise known as Bloody Saturday many people engaged in a silent protest. 2 people were killed that day and many sustained injuries. Several of the union leaders were arrested.(School Work Helpers, 2016, 2). Strike leaders were afraid that more people would be killed so on June 25, they went back to work.(Reilly, 2006, 3).

Lowell mill girls had a very tight schedule and did a lot of work too. They would wake up at around 4:30 and then they would have 15 minutes or so to eat there breakfast then go to work. Most of the girls that worked there would work 14 or more hours unless they went to school in the morning. “ Lowell mill girls worked 70 or more hours a week in hot and difficult workplace conditions,”( Lowell.com ). In 1836 the Lowell mill decided that they were going to lower the mill girl’s payment by 15% and increased the rent for the boarding houses too. The mill girls were outraged and they decided that they were going to go on strike,

The mill workers felt that they simply did not have any other options and feared the punitive steps management would take if they unionized. Indeed, this appeared to be the case. When several employees expressed a tentative interest in the union, management reduced their work days, and, consequently, their pay. The mill’s management used many other scare tactics to try and persuade employees to reject the union.

Between the years 1870-1900, Americans began to respond to the effects fostered by these corporations. From urban factory workers to rural farmers, Americans began to organize against these big businesses. With mass industrialization, more job’s were made available to women, these jobs were often in factories with terrible conditions, sweatshops. There was a sameness about working in mass production factories. Thus, working in these modern mass production factories created a homogenous environment that diminished individualism and the need for skilled workers. (Doc. C) Strikers were common during this era, workers participated in strikes and joined labor unions, such as The American Federation of Labor and the Knights of Labor, due to the terrible working conditions. The American Federation of Labor, headed by Samuel Gompers, was specifically for skilled workers and argued for better wages and a reduction in working hours. (Doc. G) Although urban workers were greatly impacted by the growth of these corporations, they were not the ones. Farmers, suffered

These mills were different as they had seen a major advancement in machinery whereby they were able to combine processes such as spinning and weaving under one roof. This meant more production of goods and an increase in profit as the companies only had to rely on the mills to not only transform raw materials but also weave them into finished goods – cloth. According to Tindall, and in contrast to the English mills, the founders of the Lowell mills opened up the mills in the countryside as they were less crowded, and their workers would be able to receive paternal guidance whereby they were required to live in the housing provided by the company and away from unpleasant urban conditions, and attend church every Sunday. The aim of the founders was to introduce a system whereby their workers would not only gain monetarily but also spiritually and form healthy relationships. Most of the factory workers at the Lowell mills were mainly of the female sex as most men had migrated westward in search of cheap land and economic opportunities. The Lowell mills also employed mostly young women because they were dexterous in operating the machinery, and were willing to work for lower wages than those paid to men. The “Lowell experiment” was supposed to provide the young women with tolerable work conditions, prepared meals, comfortable boarding houses, education and cultural privileges. However, as years passed by the expectations changed and they women became weary and formed strikes in protest to their conditions. A thorough analysis of Harriet Robinson’s Loom and Spindle: Or Life Among the Early Mill Girls shows the reasons behind the strikes at the Lowell

The novel, Bread and Roses Too, is a story written by Katherine Paterson in 2006. This book takes you through the hard life of a young child, named Rosa, during the Bread and Roses strike of the mill workers of 1912. This story took place in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and displays the different hardships that had to be overcome the Bread and Roses Strike. Rosa is a young child who is living through the highest peaks of the strike of the mill workers, and she is not sure what to think of it. Confused by all the commotion, she stays close to her most authoritative figure in her life, her mother. When Rosa figures out that her mother is approving and supporting this strike, Rosa has concerns for her mother and why she is doing what she is

Two years after the infamous Triangle fire, 20,000 workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts; angered over wage cuts and deplorable conditions went on strike, prompting the twin reactions of police brutality and press coverage (Hodson & Sullivan, 2008). “As a result of the strike, not only were wages raised and conditions improved in the textile industry as a whole, but important legislation was also enacted that restricted the exploitation of child and female labor” (Hodson & Sullivan, 2008, p. 132). It is doubtful that working conditions would have evolved to the level of equity we find today, without the sacrifice and activism of unions and their members.