Houma History

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 his book, “Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War”, Thomas G. Andrews construes the trajectory of a unique labor movement of the southern Colorado coal workers. The labor movement is unique as it integrates the social, ecological and industrial context of the strike for a captivating narration of the Ludlow massacre. Andrew’s account is valuable as he insists that credible conclusions must be grounded in complete and sophisticated provenance as opposed to oversimplified explanations. The intent of this response paper is to analyze the burdensome nature of obtaining coal, substandard pay and the treacherous working conditions. Secondly, the paper discusses the ways which helped employees to achieve autonomy and solidarity.

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

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.

Eventually, the workers of American Coal, who were once the landowners of the very area they were mining, formed a labor union to fight for better working conditions. The union was met with great opposition by the company’s secret police. As time went on, the coal miners continued to fight for their rights, only to be put down violently by the coal company’s strikebreakers. Union leaders were also fired and blacklisted from the company as a means to put a stop to union activity.

Further evidence of the government’s support for the employers was illustrated by Cleveland’s use of Pinkerton agents to suppress the Pullman strike. The Pullman strike illustrates the often hostile approach of governments in the early part of the period, as the Federal government occasionally was active in their support for the employers, to the detriment of the workers, whose strike for higher wages failed as a result of the government.

From July 24 to July 28, this charged atmosphere kindled what one observer called a “labor explosion.” In addition to walkouts and protests by railroad workers, sympathetic actions by other

The West Virginia brakemen started the upheaval by uncoupling cars, blocking railroads, suspending the intercourse of travel and business on some of the great trunk lines of the country and announcing that no freight trains would be allowed to travel until their wages were reinstated to the normal rate.5 The workmen in Pittsburgh and Chicago, St. Louis and San Francisco also joined them. Moreover, both working class and middle class people from the Martinsburg community who bore no wage relation to the railroad company also showed support by gathering at the town depot to prevent the arrest of strikers by police.7 Violence came with the strike as the workers destroyed more than $2 million worth of railroad property and the militia also fired on the crowds, killing more than 20 people. Furthermore, because the strike was already defined as “insurrection”, and that the “bloody conflict” was too much for the militia, they asked for help and involved federal troops and the army – ensuing further

The Ludlow Massacre of 1914 is one of the bloodiest strike in the American labor history. Historians have debated whether the event was a massacre of innocent lives caused by the Colorado Fuel & Iron (CF&I) or as a battle between the company workers and the company militiamen. The CF&I stated that the event was an act of its workers to demilitarize the company and to prevent importation of “strikebreakers”. However, Thomas Andrews’ Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War introduces the concept of workscape in which gives an understanding of the event internally, above the surface and underground the mines of Colorado. Within the book, the operation of Colorado coal companies in capitalizing the coal industry lead to the formation of the mine workscape in which united coal miners underground the mines and above the surface to fight for industrial and political rights. This paper would define the concept of workscape in the definition given by Andrews, and provide evidence of the responsibility of the exploitation of capitalism in forming the mine workscape in the Colorado coal fields between the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Furthermore, the closer inspection of several events that occurred within and outside the grounds of the Colorado coal fields related to labor unrest with the knowledge of the concept of workscape will help understand the culmination of the Ludlow massacre within the larger history of capitalism. A careful investigation of the book and other

The apparent anti-First Amendment security forces seemed ready to ponce and pounced as if the candidate was approached by a public service worker (teacher) in his home state of Wisconsin. The strong-arm tactics could not help, but bring thoughts of early 1900 company thugs attacking union organizers. Actually, the strong-arm thuggery at the Walker stage reminded of Hitler's Brown Shirt strongmen attacking any dissenter who spoke out against the future dictator.

Daddy didn’t return home that day or never husbands, likewise, aunt the papa, along with the other detained during the raid sent to Pithiviers a camp near Orleans. My friend Gilbert, father brought us the information.

Within the last few days, nearly 125,000 workers on 29 different railroads have walked off of the job as a refusal to handle any train with Pullman cars on it. Business owners have been reaching the peak of their irritation and have been employing replacement workers to try to end the protest. The courts have also become involved. With the recent passing of an injunction, federal troops were sent to the scene. Instead of helping the situation, it enraged the strikers. Protests have been beginning to become violent.

Here there were disturbances of labor, sometimes pretty violent, in otherwise peaceful cities such as Chicago, Cleveland, Saint Louis…” (277) His

“The United States has had the “bloodiest and most violent labor history of any industrial nation in the world”—so concluded Philip Taft and Philip Ross for their oft-cited study, American Labor Violence: Its Causes, Character, and Outcome (Urbanski, "Labor Union Violence in America: A Brief History", para 2). Dating all the back to the late

Houma is a place situated in the lap of Lousiana states of the United States. This cultural city is one of the finest places to explore the diversity of any culture. The culture of the city is inspired by the Acadia-African tradition and Americal culture. This beautiful combination makes this place more popular and traditionally rich.