The American Nation - Pgs496-500 Outline

Pgs 496 - 500

Labor Organizes

-During civil war only skilled artisans were organized

-Unions grew due to dissatisfaction during war

-1866 - Federation of organization, The Nation Labor Union, was founded

-Many organization leaders were visionaries, didn't understand real needs

-1869 - Knights of Labor

-Founded in Philly by Uriah S. Stephens

-Succeeded by Terence V. Powderly

-Hypocritical, denounced corporations but said all trades should unite

-Accepted women and immigrants

-Demanded 8-hour work day, higher pay eventually followed

-Remained secret under Stephens, but more public during Powderly

-Membership soared, hit 700,000 in 86

-New members were disillusioned

-Striker was killed in a brawl at McCormick Harvesting Machine Company

-Anarchists called a meeting on May 4 at Haymarket Square, police

came to break it up, and a bomb killed 7 cops and many others

The American Federation of Labor

-Anarchists were put to death as result of bombing, organized labor suffered

-Knights of Labor was disbanded due to heavy loss of members

-American Federation of Labor (AFL) replaces Knights in 1886

-Adolph Strasser and Samuel Gompers (Cigarmakers Union) were

interested in utopian reforms

-Toyed with the idea of political party, but soon focus turned to more

imminent issues like higher pay and shorter hours

-AFL tried to develop a sense of common purpose

-Unions were a "kind of club as well as a means of defending and

advancing material interests"

-Gompers encouraged strategic use of the strike

-1901 membership passed one million

Labor Militancy Rebuffed

-Average employer acted like a tyrant, trying to oppress unions

-Carnegie approved unions

-Deflation, technological change, and intense competition kept employers pressur