As stated, many labor unions that were created utilized strikes to negotiate and come to a compromise between business leaders and their workers. However, it got to the point where they were being overused, and starting to turn very violent. The first time this had occurred is the Great Strike in the year of 1877. It occurred in the city of Baltimore, where workers from the Ohio Railroad company were on strike due to their pay checks being cut. However, a compromise was unable to be in a timely manner, causing the railroad system to come to a halt. This delay lasted for about a week or two, even causing the federal government to get involved as the economy and commerce was being greatly affected by this. To bring an end to this, the President,
The Industrial Revolution began in the eighteenth century marking the transformation of economic power and productivity. Not only was there concentration on agriculture, as their main source of an economy, and started to concern themselves with commerce, trade, and exploration of new technologies. Working toward great financial success to make a profit. Even though the machinery was new the main power source was human labor. Production took place in homes and small workshops. The primary labor force was drawn specifically to the young, as the industrial revolution began in semi-normal locations. The effects of the Industrial revolution were harsh on children, and it made people feel like all they
From here, came the Great Strike of 1877. According to Fredrick Kunkle of Washingtonpost.com, “The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began in Martinsburg . . . when railroad workers responded to yet another pay cut by shutting down the yard. Violent clashes broke out, and from there the trouble raced along the great railroad lines into Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and St. Louis, building in ferocity as it went” (1). Kunkle adds, “By the time the strike was put down, an estimated 100,000 workers had taken part and about 100 people had died” (1). However, this disturbing event would never have taken place without John W. Garrett’s signature. “The spark came when John W. Garrett, president of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, signed off on a 10 percent wage cut,” says Kunkle (1). This ‘Great Strike’ gave a brutal example to the consequences that might follow injustice in the workplace.
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
The Great Railroad strike occurred in 1877 and started in Martinsburg, West Virginia. The original incident was when major railroad companies announced that there would be another wage cut of ten percent, after workers’ wages were already slashed during the financial panic of 1873. This economic downfall caused hundreds of laborers to leave their jobs and go on strike. The word spread to cities across the country that railroad workers were striking causing a domino effect of strikes within other railroad companies as well as other professions. The initial strike led to violence causing the loss of
Since the beginning of man, the human race has gone through many changes throughout history. One of the most significant and critical changes was the Industrial Revolution of Great Britain. Characterized by the development of new manufacturing processes, the Industrial Revolution was a period between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that spurred extensive changes in almost every aspect of society. These changes stimulated a major transformation in the way of life and created a modern urban society based on industrial manufacturing and not agricultural production. The Industrial Revolution debuted in England because of changes in the textile industry and agriculture leading to a more stable economic platform, an ever-increasing demand for coal, and international success in the trading market, resulting in the development and improvement of daily
As seen in the Pullman Strike, Ludlow Massacre, etc, the federal government took the side of the employers and sent in federal troops to break up strikes. This all changed in 1902 when Roosevelt took the side of the United Mine Workers in the Anthracite Coal Strike. Wilson knew that something had to be done since the coal supplies for winter were being threatened, and so he proposed both the operators and miners to accept an arbitration. The operators rejected but willingly gave in when Roosevelt threatened to seize the mines. This awarded the workers with a wage increase and lower working hours. Although the union didn’t achieve to earn the recognition they wanted, they were pleased with the government siding with them. He didn't stop there,
England in the 1800’s was starting to change the world forever. Life was okay in England. They didn’t have very much food for the general public so many people very starving. The English people needed a better way to do many of their own daily activities because many of them took a long time to do.The whole reason England was able to prosper and have the Industrial Revolution was caused by the surplus of food from the Agricultural revolution, abundant natural resources, and skilled people available for work.
During the late 1800s work and wages were hard to come by. There was very little work for people to get so everyone were fighting to get one and make the smallest amount of money they could. In 1877, the great strike happened which is referred to as the railroad strike of 1877. It was supposed to be a complaint against the new economy situations . The rail road ordered a ten percent cut in wages and planned which double the numbers of cars per train to cut workers .
Apart of the Homestead Strike in 1892 there were labor unions formed and protesting before the strike occur. One example will be the Haymarket strike led by American Federation of Labor(AFL). The AFL were wanting similar goals as the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers. They both aimed for an eight hour work day and better wages for workers. On May 1,1886 they decided to protest against the businesses after failing to change the employees work hours. Unfortunately, the protest in Chicago ended violently when a bomb was thrown into the crowd and killed 7 officers and injured several. After this situation labor unions were view as rebels by the public. The american public wanted them to be punished for their actions therefore after
The federal government efforts to destroy labor union strikes were fruitful during The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 (Document B) and The Homestead Strike in 1892 (Document G). The Great Railroad Strike started with a devastating stock market crash and depression in 1873. Thousands of businesses were forced to close down and others forced to drastically reduce pay and fire their workers. Years later on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which is mentioned in Document B, railroad laborers working on these lines striked because of the reductions in their pay. According to the New York Times in 1877, this revolt was hopeless, and hopeless it was. The great strike, which consisted of 45 days severely punished the economy that is until President Rutherford B. Hayes called out the militia. Two weeks after the calling of the militia almost 100 people died. America's railroads stood still but America's railroad workers still did not receive the wages they rightfully deserved.
Pullman Strike: The Pullman Strike was a nationwide railroad strike in the United States on May 11, 1894. The American Railway Union (ARU) against the Pullman Company, and the government of the United States, President Grover Cleveland. The issue began in Pullman, Chicago, on May 11 according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pullman_Strike.org about “4,000 factory employees of the Pullman Company began a strike in response to lowered wages.” According to https://www.britannica.com “In response to financial reverses related to the economic depression that began in 1893, the Pullman Palace Car Company, a manufacturer of railroad cars, cut the already low wages of its workers by about 25 percent but did not introduce corresponding reductions in rents and other charges at Pullman.” Most factory workers who built Pullman train cars lived in Pullman Chicago, Illinois. George Pullman wanted to design it as a model community. He had a different people working for him. He hired African-Americans for certain jobs at the company. Pullman also hired young, single women to be his secretary for him, which at the time was very unlikely for women and African-American men to work at all. He also used ads and other things to help bring workers to his company. The company laid off workers and lowered wages, and did not change rents, and the workers called for a strike. There were many reasons for the strike, for example not enough democracy in the Pullman, bad water and gas
Ironically, there were over 3,000 strikes that took place during the early 1900’s, as owners refused to give raises and banned the formation of unions. This angered many people and sparked some of the biggest strikes to ever occur up to this point in time. Two of these strikes were the Boston Police Strike and Steel Mill Strike. Due to these worker restrictions, Police Officers in Boston were infuriated and many were actually fired and the rest went on strike. This strike was taken down,
1 Second Industrial Revolution: Following the first Industrial Revolution, the Second Industrial Revolution, also known as the Technological Revolution, proceeded to emerge at the tail-end of the 19th century, going into the 20th century. Like the First Industrial Revolution, this revolution provided an advancement of technology, but with more tedious inventions. These advancements helped America pave ways for better communication with the telegraph, updated sanitation elements such as water supplies and sewage systems, and cumulated a new wave of globalization.
The two major Railroad Strikes were the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and Railroad Shop workers Strike of 1922. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, was due to workers not being happy about the pay cuts that were being made by their employer so often. Northern Railroads began cutting salaries and wages. Because of various railroads cutting wages by 10% back to back, workers were not willing to continue working under those conditions. Not only were the wages of the workers being cut, the amount work of work given to the employees increased and the employer did not hire additional workers. This then caused railroad employees to respond by taking control of the rail yard switches, and blocking movement of trains. Throughout various cities such as Baltimore, Pittsburg, St. Louise, and Chicago, Violent acts began to occur. Many people died throughout the cities. The strike cause the country’s commerce to become paralyzed and pushed governors in different states to utilize militia members to reopen rail traffic. This action also helped set the stage for violence that would occur later in the 1880s and 1890s.
The second Industrial Revolution was responsible for evoking great change in the United States of America. It was a time when the very fabric of America was being redesigned and improved upon. Populations were beginning to gravitate towards large urban areas, such as New York and Philadelphia, and the economy was becoming more industrial-based. Farming was becoming less of a priority, as more Americans became determined to find factory jobs. The country was beginning to modernize. The introduction of big business and labor unions was able to revolutionize The United States' economy and society.