The Difficulty Of Fusion : Jack Walton And The Farmer Laborer Reconstruction League Essay

Workers became “more numerous, better organized, more disciplined, and more successful” even though employers tried to stop them (Who Built America 113). Many of these workers led strikes for better hours, better wages and better conditions. When comparing the 1800s to today, we see that strikes were very effective, an example of this is shown in the 8-hour movement. Unions helped win “more than 60 percent of the strikes waged in 1889 and 1890” (Who Built America 113). Due to these workers, employees now face fewer obstacles. Whenever workers felt as though they were being taken advantage of they could “refuse to work, if they withdraw their cooperation, every social institution can be brought to a halt” (Brecher 5). Without workers, the employers will have no one to complete products therefore not being able to make a profit. Subsequently, employees will have leverage over the employers so they can finally sit down and negotiate their conditions. This was shown in the Michigan Central Railroad where workers fought for their wages to increase by two dollars. The workers exhibited their resistance when “streetcars, wagons, and buggies were stopped; tanneries, stoneworks, clothing factories, lumberyards, brickyards, furniture factories, and a large distillery was closed in response to roving crowds” (Brecher 31). The result of this strike was “victorious, and 2 dollars a day became the standard wage in Galveston” (Brecher 31). This strike was important because it exhibited to others that if they unite then they can achieve better conditions. If the workers did not unionize they would not have achieved equality in the workforce and better wages and conditions. Without resistance, these workers would have never gotten negotiations or the necessities they need. Even if workers lost because of outside interference they eventually had the power to change the minds of

Labor union were crucial in the late 1800’s when the workers were working long hours, doing hard work, without any extra pay. Job security (could be fired at any given time) and safety precautions did not exist in this era, jobs in this day was typically a threat to the workers due to the bad working conditions. When the union was formed in 1866 it was not easy, but if the workers understood how it would benefit them it would have been a greater successes. Due to lack of education, the communication between the union and the works was broken. Some of the religious beliefs created a hardship on getting the union passed. One of the unions called the AFL (American Federation of Labor) was created in 1881 that would try to fight for workers’ rights.

In “Reconstruction Revisited”, Eric Foner reexamines the political, social, and economic experiences of black and white Americans in the aftermath of the Civil War. With the help of many historian works, Foner gives equal representation to both sides of the Reconstruction argument.

Reconstruction was a period of time after the Civil War (1865-1877) that was supposed to be the rebuilding of America. It was also the process used to readmit all the Confederate states back into the Union. There was controversy, however, on how to go about rebuilding the nation. Abraham Lincoln proposed a lenient plan. After he was assassinated, Andrew Johnson proposed a very similar plan. The Radical Republicans, a group of legislators that were in favor of freedmen’s rights, were opposed to both plans under “Presidential Reconstruction”. They initiated “Congressional Reconstruction”. Because of the conflicting views, there was little cooperation between the Executive and Legislative branches. This lead to many unsuccessful

Everyone was frustrated with work conditions and this led to the formations of unions around the country. The Knights of Labor was a very popular union that led the first major strike in the United States. The year was 1885 and Jay Gould’s Missouri Pacific Railroad was the target. The owner, Jay Gould, had recently cut wages drastically and fired union members. The Knights led the strike and eventually succeeded to improve wages for the railroad workers. With this great accomplishment the Knights gained

The first roar of the Civil War ended with a last gasp for air. Where in such a war more than six hundred twenty thousand men sacrificed their lives for their own belief in the abolishment of slavery (“Civil War Facts”). “We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom” (Baslor). These wise words of Abraham Lincoln cleared the way of a desolate trail of violence and pain, yet he was determined to accomplish his plans of abolishing slavery and creating equality. The Civil War, began in 1861 and ended in 1865, yet it was known as one of the bloodiest wars America has ever walked through compared to other American Wars (“Civil War Facts”). After the Civil War

Successful strike of the American Railway Union against powerful companies such as the Great Northern Railway inspired numerous wildcat strikes and participation into unions (Ginger). After organizing ARU, Debs led his first strike against the Great Northern Railway, demanding a rollback of recent wage cuts (Reitano). By efficiently unifying all classes of employees, ARU achieved most of their requests (Reitano). Those Great victories, unlike previously failed strikes, motivated other workers to fight for their rights, launching multiple wildcat strikes (Ginger). Furthermore, American labor activists who saw the great success adopted the ideas of industrial union, establishing labor unions nationwide (Ginger). Additionally, the ARU itself became the largest industrial union in the country, accepting railway workers of various places (Ginger). Therefore, the success of the American Railway Union’s strike under Debs’s leadership initiated the growth of labor movements in America, significantly improving the workers’

Despite being able to cause a small improvement in workers’ pay and hours, labor unions ultimately died out by the 1900s due to their methods. Unable to truly focus on the plight of skilled workers, most labor unions instead focused on that of unskilled workers, pushing aside the skilled workers. (Doc D). The actions of labor unions ended up being counterproductive, forcing companies to wage war against the labor unions. These stricter contracts such as that of Western Union Telegraph Company, forced workers to affiliate themselves against labor unions. (Doc E) One important thing to note is that the workers’ rights advocates were never able to coincide on one factor. As evidenced in an illustration in 1887, labor unions had to compete with other movements such as socialism, anarchism, and other labor unions. (Doc F). Because of this, the media, although recognizing the labor union movement, began viewing the labor unions as dangerous entities. Although the initial strikes such as the Wabash strike were successful, the ones that followed proved detrimental to the movement, and caused the steady decline of the labor unions. Because some of the strikes were dangerous, many strikes resulted in the deaths of those involved, such as the Homestead Crisis, and Pinkerton (Doc G). Combined with events such as the Wildcat strike, Haymarket strike, the Pullman Strike, the public began to associate a negative

The joint committee combats Johnson’s point of view by arguing the fact that the former rebels have an attitude which “haughtily claims” that they have a right to rejoin the government against which they fought so hard to overpower. The committee largely consisting of radical Republicans who attempted to deem the South rebellious and do a thorough revamping of their civil system, including barring them from Congress. The motive behind this Republicanized report was two-faced; they wanted the rights of freed African-Americans to be instated and for the Southern society to be restructured, yet the prospect of inviting Democrats into Congress was possibly a bigger reason for the harsh punishment. The joint committee refused Southern states to be acknowledged as part of the Union because the moment they did so, the South would have rights as a state again and be able to come back into Congressional power. Johnson takes the approach that they haven’t been severed from the Union, and argues that if they were then the Constitution becomes invalid which would not bode well for the North since the federal government would then become invalid as well.

Colorado labor Wars: The Colorado labor wars were a series of labor strikes in 1903 and 1904 in the US state of Colorado, by gold and silver miners and mill workers represented by the Western Federation of Miners (WFM). Opposing the WFM were associations of mine owners and businessmen at each location, supported by the Colorado state government. The strikes were notable and controversial for the accompanying violence, and the imposition of martial law by the Colorado National Guard in order to put down the strikes. A nearly simultaneous strike in Colorado's northern and southern coal fields was also met with a military response by the Colorado National Guard. Colorado's most significant battles between labor and capital occurred between

The UAW has had an extensive history in America for the 80 years. It was founded on May 1935 in Detroit Michigan under the American Federation of Labor until the AFL suspended the union thus enabling the UAW to form a rival federation of unions called the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). It infamously formed a sit-down strike compiled of 22 delegates in 1935, at General Motors in Flint Michigan. Proving successful at GM plant, it later addressed other companies such as Chrysler and Ford, later gaining recognition of the UAW as an appointee. When America went to war with Japan in 1942, the UAW voted to make a “no strike” pledge to not impede war effort. Subsequently the UAW became the first union to hold a Women’s

These conditions did not change overnight. Early labor organizations had to struggle with both industry and the government to secure the most basic rights for workers. In fact, it took over 150 years for unions to establish the legal right to organize. Along with wanting wages that were high enough to provide the basic needs, unions fought for the 8-hour workday, child labor laws, equal pay for the sexes, and public education (Dulles, 108,132)(Encyclopedia Americana, 630). Various organizations formed to provide for the needs of a diverse working population. Some were more successful than others were. However, all faced opposition from the business owners. Companies frequently used the government

Unions first came about with the realization that workers were being treated unfairly, worked in

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was America’s first nationwide strike. The strike was a result of a 10 percent pay deduction by four of the largest railroads. “Nearly 100,000 workers were idled and approximately two-thirds of the railroad mileage across the Unites States was shut down with over 14 states and ten railroads involved” (AP Study Notes: Rise of Unions). President Hayes eventually sent troops to coral the strikers but they were so unorganized that they eventually stopped and went back to work.

adamantly opposed any recognition of the union. Thus, the union members decided to strike over wages, safety