Samuel Gompers' Primary Guiding Principles

Gompers’ address depicts the wealthy or the employer as the enemy of laborers and of labor unions. He says that the employer can care less whether the laborers are destroyed or preserved, because the laborer is looked at as a machine which is “thrown out as soon as all the work possible has been squeezed out of him”2. This is why he encouraged and promoted the old saying that there is “strength in numbers”. He encouraged the laborers to band together in order to organize themselves and preserve their rapidly dwindling rights. Gompers argued that it was only through organization that the laborers would be able to have their rights to a way of life recognized, to secure their rights and liberties, and in general to “maintain their manhood”2. This goes against Carnegie’s work, where he encouraged the laborers and the people of lower economic stature to happily rely on the wealthy and trust that they will spend the money that they have on their behalf. Gompers wanted the laborers to be self-reliant and to be able to come together in effective labor unions. These labor unions in the long run ended up being a protection for many of the laborers during that

This federation was named the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The creation of the American Federation of Labor was caused by the weakness of a labor union at the time called the Knights of Labor. Because the Knights of Labor had internal conflicts such as competition among the labor unions. Members of the AFL were required to pay 6 cents per year as a due for being within the union and under the protection of the union. The president of the union was paid $1000 per year for a full-time job of guiding the union. The American Federation of Labor spread rumours about the Knights of Labor, causing them to collapse. Despite this, the labor union’s growth was not fast, even though they had taken out their biggest rival. It wasn’t until 1892 that they hit the 250,000 member mark. A possible reason for the slow growth of the union were their beliefs against immigration. During that point in time, there were still many immigrants coming to America mainly from the European countries and some Asian countries. The American Federation of Labor were against the immigrants because they took away jobs from the already citizens of the United States, a situation much like the present day. One thing the American Federation of Labor did do was play a big role in the creation of labor laws in the United States. With the creation of worker’s rights, the workplace became safer and they were able to have influence over laws concerning immigration. During World War 1, the United States government encouraged industries and companies to compromise with the labor unions rather than face strike, otherwise it would stunt the production of supplies needed for the war in Europe. The American Federation of Labor signed an agreement to help with the war and to eliminate socialist and communist labor unions in the United States. They did this because it was in both

The labor relations movement has been one of the most successful driving forces behind such efforts as: providing aid to workers who were injured or retired, better health benefits and to stop the practice of child labor in the workforce. Ostensibly, unions in the United States arose out of the need to better protect the “common interests” of laborers. Today, many of the social movements and alliances forged are created under the guise to better protect the employer from a plethora of interests made against the organization, rather than, increasing wages, improving reasonable employment hours and/or enhancing work conditions.

formed in 1886, during the time of the knights of labor, an older union. the goals of the AFL were different than the goals of the Knights of Labor, Gompers believed that socialism was poison to the cause. He was one of the only labor union leaders to hold strikes regularly, and recognized their power. Gompers sought the help of president Woodrow Wilson to help the AFL, the union helped wilson in his election. By his first year in office most of the AFL’s demands were met.

By the end of the 19th Century, most Americans saw labor unions as comprised of radical communists and anarchists. The problem started with the idea that labor unions and collective bargaining was seen as un-American. With the American focus on individual freedoms, the idea that a group of people should get together to demand what they want was communistic. This fear can be directly shown in one of Thomas Nast’s political cartoons from 1878, which shows labor unions killing capitalism in order to appease communism (Source C). It also didn’t help that this group of people were workers, who controlled the means of industry in a communist state. The people who supported labor unions often were socialists or communists themselves as well. Eugene Debs, for example, was a well-known socialist and proponent of worker’s rights. His beliefs that the US should work within its political system in order to gradually give way to a socialist state didn’t sit well with Americans. Neither did Daniel DeLeon’s ideas, for that matter, who believed that workers should lead the way in a revolution to overthrow the

See, e.g., Marion Crain & Ken Matheny, Beyond Unions, Notwithstanding Labor Law, 4 U.C. IRVINE L. REV. 561, 562–53 (2014). “Unions served as a vehicle for worker voice and political influence . . . .”

Finally, when they were recognized by the government, for example the Supreme Court, they passed the Interstate Commerce Act; however this act was not enforced. Also this did not help out the primary cause for labor unions. Gomper's testimony (Document I), claims that workers find that improvements in methods of production and distribution are constantly being made. Workers, therefore, he argues need occasionally to strike or all advantages will go to the employers and all injuries to the employees. Rights, he says, have been gained by the people through sacrifices and persistency. Samuel Gomper was the founder of the American Federation of Labor. The AFL did survive the 19th century because it primarily included skilled workers. The AFL kept out of involvement in politics and built up strike funds, focusing on "bread and butter" issues. It survived the depression of 1893 (which was just ending when this testimony was given) when many other unions failed. The AFL also excluded most women, African Americans, unskilled workers and some immigrants. Gompers was one of the first American union leaders to focus on collective bargaining and the strike as a political weapon. Document D was another testimony, from a machinist. He goes on to explain how the conditions in factories have changed. Many jobs were

The American Federation of Labor was an association of trade unions starting 1886, rising out of an earlier Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions founded in 1881. The AFL's president, Samuel Gompers, was convinced that unions open to workers of all types of skills within a given industry,called industrial unions,were too undisciplined to withstand the tactics that both government and management had used to break American unions in the past. The answer, was craft unions, each limited to the skilled workers in a single trade. According to Gompers's "pure and simple unionism," labor should not waste its energies fighting capitalism; I ts sole task was to hammer

The American Federation of Labor’s founder Samuel Gompers used the idea of “freedom of contract”

In 1892, an article by the new Populist Party called “People’s Party Platform” in the Omaha Morning World-Herald was published (Doc E). The Populist Party’s purpose in this article was to convince the public that they were the ones who could end some the unfair practices of industrialization. Although they might seem to be a political party just trying to get support for their presidential candidate, James Weaver, they truly wanted to reform those unfair practices as seen during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency. Their true belief was to increase government power in order to stop the oppression of laborers. In Samuel Gompers’ speech What Does Labor Want?, Gompers argues for increased protection, increased wages, and decreased hours of labor for laborers (Doc F).

Document G features Samuel Gompers address to the International Labor Congress in 1893. Gompers clearly states the wants of the laborers of America, the first and foremost is that the men, women, and children in the labor force be looked upon not as property, but human beings. Gompers demanded the reduction of labor hours, which would get a set working wage, and reduce the amount of poor people in jails and poor houses. Finally, and most importantly, he insists that laborers have the right to self and mutual protection, in which the laborer be respected and if injury may be inflicted upon him at work that he will be taken care of by the company. To

These benefits were greatly needed as seen in the working conditions experienced by the Italian immigrants of this time. These groups were organized locally which also led to their downfall because of too much local power rather than a form of national leadership. The American Federation of Labor, founded in 1185, was unique in that it restricted its membership to only skilled workers and was also organized by trade instead of locality. For this reason it “became known as the “aristocracy” of labor” (Additional Links: The War between Capital and Labor). The Italian immigrants, for example, were not commonly found in the American Federation of Labor because they were unskilled and were not unionizing. President of the American Federation of Labor, Samuel Gompers believed in the power of the strike and most importantly the belief of the eight-hour workday. In Chicago, over one thousand people gathered at the West Randolph Street Haymarket, where people bought hay for their horses. Originally it was a peaceful gathering until someone threw a bomb into the crowd. The police responded by shooting into the crowd. An unknown number of demonstrators were killed or wounded. “Sixty police officers were injured and eight eventually died. Politicians and the press blamed radicals for the violence, although there was no evidence linking specific people to the bomb” (Lecture

The argument between Federalists and Anti-Federalists might seem long gone to American citizens, but still their philosophical foundations shape the teams, scope and size of the battlefield. These philosophies go back to two lone men, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Both fought aggressively for a government based on their ideas, and both did make portions of the now-standing American government. This essay will outline the political, social and economic philosophies of both men, how their philosophies influenced the government today, and a closing opinion.

John Witherspoon was the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. He was a highly influential, formidable intellectual, as well as a political leader whose role in the affairs of early republican America deserves a much higher level of recognition. Witherspoon was born on February 5, 1723, and was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, as well as a Founding Father of the United States.

In terms of similarities, both Kessner and Badger believed that Roosevelt’s New Deal simply lacked the essential capacity for solving the intricate problems of the Great Depression. However, while Kessner outright points to the massive jump start of the economy from WWII, Badger merely hints at it, limiting his appraisal to Roosevelt keeping the economy and nation intact for the war. Furthermore, Roosevelt is seen as “being in the right place at the right time” in both articles. In a time of rising unemployment, destabilization of banks, and lack of preventative measures, the general public opened up to Roosevelt’s reform policies that drastically altered social relations between the federal government and civilians and economic relations between