The Causes Of The Second Industrial Revolution

The Knights of Labor represented the pinnacle of the up lift labor movement. They, at one time, had membership that numbered in the hundreds of thousands and nearly hit a million members. This organization was unique in its time because it espoused many of the ideals we hold today as statutory for an ethical and equitable society as well as employee employer relationship. The Knights of Labor did not begrudge industry or the capitalism, more over they were less of a concern than the organizations larger goal to protect and promote social equity, in labor and society, for the common man.

The second Industrial Revolution was an era that created many inventions off of the first Industrial Revolution, which included refining techniques to chemicals, electricity, transportation, and production engineering to name a few. One of the most highly technological innovations of the second Industrial Revolution, however, was the innovation of steel.

The Knights of Labor was a standard labor union comprised of individual workers across the nation. They were inclusive in terms, employing both skilled workers in crafts industries as well as unskilled laborers such as coalminers. (Rayback, 1966, p. 168). They had limited political objectives such as the eight-hour workday and the prohibition of child and convict labor. Their broader objectives were social: to improve the image and social status of the working man.

The employers declared their opposition to these Boycotts by saying that were “un-american and anti-american”, and then they went turned to courts against the Unions. The most successful labor union, Knights of Labor was established in 1869 in Philadelphia. The Knights believed in a government determined by the people and production determined by the workers. Labor reform was one of the key objectives of the Knights of Labor. To the Gilded age labor reformers the debasement of politics and society rested in part on the capacity of the rich to corrupt governments in their own self interests. They Knights said that, “We declare an inevitable and irresistible conflict between the wage system of labor and republican system of government” (Rosenzweig,Pg 95-96). Knights of Labor extended their memberships to all of the working-class instead of just limiting to “skilled workers”. They broke the norm from other labor movements by including women, African Americans, Mexicans in their movements, who were previously shut out of the labor movement. While in some states, the Knights held combined assemblies where the Black and the White workers joined forces in demonstrations, some other places held separate assemblies and this garnered criticizm from some the skilled African American laborers(Rosenzweig, Pg 97). The knights excluded non producers such as lawyers, bankers, speculators, and

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 1800s is characterized with the rise of industrial America. As technological advances were introduced to industry, unskilled labor also rose in accordance to the rise in factories. However, this rise also introduced several labor unions such as the Knights of Labor, which organized a series of protests and riots. The labor unions had good intentions, aiming to lower the average work hours for workers, as well as increase their wages. However, their methods which involved riots and protests, were altogether not effective, and ended up being detrimental to their cause. Between 1875 and 1900, labor unions surged and were temporarily successful; however, their methods would prove detrimental to their cause overtime, leading to their

The Knights of Labor were founded with the goal of promoting an end to child labor, equal pay for women, and cooperation between employers and employees. They were important because they were all-inclusive: women, blacks, and employers were all allowed to join.

Knights of Labor were one of the first major unions. The union boasted a large membership

During the time period 1875 to 1900, the labor unions failed miserably in their efforts to amend the working conditions their workers were under. During the 19th century, the Second Industrial Revolution and The Gilded Age were taking place. These were transmuting the way society was viewed and how people lived their everyday lives. During the labor movement, there were many different organizations and groups that advocated change. Two of those specific groups were the Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor. The failure of those labor unions between 1875 and 1900 in the U.S. was mostly due to the union's actions, followed by problems within the unions, and people's response to the union.

The National Labor Union was the first organized labor movement in the U.S. It was led by one William Sylvis. The NLU's goal was to unite the various labor movements in the U.S. and create a national labor organization. The organization was largely responsible for the enactment of legislation creating the eight hour workday; however employers cut wages to compensate for the reduced hours, and worker's gains were minimal. Additionally, the NLU believed political activity was the key to reform, which did not appeal to many workers. It was unable to get its candidates elected, and most of its members deserted to join the Knights of Labor.

Strikes were what workers organized to try and get out of the different situation they were in. The concept of strikes in general is simple— unity is power. Following the same concept, workers organized unions which lobbied for their rights and tried to make sure that the employment conditions for workers throughout the country were acceptable and fair. Knights of Labor was the first major national organization dedicated to protecting the interests not only of workers but also farmers. Membership of the Knights of Labor, however, declined after the Haymarket Affair, which was previously discussed.

One of the major unions is the Knights of Labor and their leader was Terence Powderly. They wanted an eight-hour workday, higher wages, the abolition of child labor, improved safety in factories, equal pay for men and women, and compensation for on the job injuries. The Knights of Labor goals were the same as Terence Powderly, which is higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions. The American Railway Union, ARU, was one of the first industrial unions and Debs, secretary treasurer, helped set it up. Their goals were to unite other railway workers from all sorts of different jobs into one big

The second industrial revolution was the change of our world even though many people moved from rural homes into cities because they can't get accepted in jobs and it started in the 1870-1944 after the civil war because “ during this time, many advances in technology and factories made it easier and quicker for farmers and manufactures to produce more goods and products to be sold.”

The Second Industrial Revolution, which reached its peak during 1870 to 1914, marked a significant turning point in American history. Before this era of progression and industrial excellence, America was on the verge of expansion like never before. From the vast amounts of land gained through the Annexation of Texas in 1845, the British retreating from Oregon in 1846, and the Mexican cession of Southwest territory guaranteed by the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo of 1848, (Engelman) America was able to expand their territory and access new resources. Industrialization and factory growth in the North was just budding and beginning to create economic success, along with spurring a rise of urbanization and migration of foreign workers to America.

There are many different revolutions that happened through time that shaped the western tradition but overall some of them may not have happened if the industrial revolution did not happen first. The industrial revolution changed how the made things back then and shaped how we continue to mass produce products today. They went from making things at home that took a long time to make one product to making hundreds of things daily. Although there were many good things there was still some bad that need to be looked at. Overall the industrial revolution transformed the Western Tradition and how we continue to live life today. The industrial revolution changed how things were made, brought many good things, but also brought some bad things.