Labors And Slavery During The Gilded Age

Similar to the farmers during the Gilded Age, industrial workers combatted poor working conditions, child labor, low wages, and long hours by forming labor unions and organizing strikes, ending as a massive failure. Early in the industrial era, there was no minimum wage, leaving it up to the factory owners to set the rate at which their workers were to be paid. Some owners did not pay their employees in cash but in company scrip which could be redeemed at the company store. For example, in Pullman, Illinois and in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the towns were owned by corporations, the Pullman Palace Car Company and the Hershey Company respectively, so their workers would receive vouchers to spend at the company store instead of hard cash.

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

During the Progressive Era of the Gilded Age, many laborers were being mistreated by the companies that they worked for. Because of this, workers started forming labor unions or organized association of workers, formed to protect and further their rights and interests. Many of these labor unions failed, while few of them achieved their goals and still exist today. Many factors contributed to the failure of these labor unions. The labor unions were given a bad image, the reason for this was the media, and they did this by publishing articles depicting the unions as violent, communist groups. The government supported big business during this time, since the government had a lot of power; this was a huge setback in the labor unions’ battles.

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.

Labor unions have existed in one way or another since the birth of our country in 1776. They were created in an effort to protect the working population from abuses such as sweatshops and unsafe working conditions. From the start of our Nation there were a few unions organized unions in a scattered fashion, but many were disbanded after they had achieved their goals, such as when the printers and shoemakers briefly unionized in Philadelphia and New York City in 1778 to conduct the first recorded strike for higher wages. Three years later in 1971 the first successful strike happened, when Philadelphia carpenters campaigned for a ten-hour workday. This caused the need for skilled and unskilled laborers to skyrocket during the Industrial Revolution and the Civil War and also got the ball rolling with Labor unions. At this point in our Country, there had been nothing done yet for workers’ rights, conditions, pay, and so on. People at this time saw that they could come together and do something to make their lives better for themselves and their families. Many of these dates were important in shaping our country’s labor policies into what they are today. In 1847 New Hampshire enacts as the first state to enforce a 10-hour workday law. In 1909 the International Ladies’ Garment workers’ Union calls a strike in New York, demanding a 20-percent raise and a 52-hour workweek. Within two days, more than 20,000 workers from 500 factories walk off the job. This largely successful uprising

The Gilded Age was a tough time for me and other families to have a life and prosper in. Long hours and low wages were common as owners could find low-cost workers. Without unions, I and the rest of the workers were exposed to extended hours during a time where paying someone overtime did not occur. With limited opportunities workers like me and families had jobs that we struggled with and no hope of getting far in life. During the Gilded Age, there were two social classes, the wealthy and the poor and, unfortunately I was in the poor social class. The Gilded Age had a meaning behind it and I had an idea of what it meant, “Gilded means covered with a layer of gold, but it also suggests that the glittering surface

The end of the Civil War marked a new integration of industry into American society. Following the war, high tariffs were put in place to compensate for the national debt that were created. The increase in tariffs also promoted domestic industries which became more critical in America. A major shift can be seen during this time, known as the Gilded Age, toward a more industrialized society rather than an agricultural one. One major influence toward this industrialized society was the building of the transcontinental railroad which ran from East to West coast. Finished in 1869, the Railroad allowed for more transport which also benefited the rising of big businesses. Regional companies could become national companies and thus changed the way people looked at industrialization. This industrialization affected the working class the most which consisted of the industrial workers and farmers. One would think that the “Gilded Age” would mean prosperity would be felt throughout the economy but the elite 1% of the population had more money than the rest of the population combined. This did not sit well with the working class, especially the industrial workers, who were the ones making the profit for the elites. However, each the farmers and industrial workers had their own way in which they responded to the industrialization of the Gilded Age.

In Virginia, the Chesapeake Bay area during the 1600s the slave community evolved over a long period of time. Problems occurred regarding their labor that had an important influence on the switch to a society dominated by slave labor. During the 1600s labor in the Chesapeake shifted to slave society because of a shift in culture, economic issues, and frustrations of the tobacco market boom. Each of these reasons all relates back to the labor problem the colonists were facing in Virginia.

The years following the Civil War and Reconstruction was an era somewhat gilded. The Second Industrial Revolution came about with new inventions, and revolutionized how factories and jobs were worked. Factory workers in this time period were working in poor conditions and had no power whatsoever. Often they were abused and their wages were cut very low. The mass immigration also did not favor laborers as it made them so easy to replace. In order to fight back laborers would join labor unions in order to protest; however, during this time the labor unions were not that affective during 1875 and 1900 because although they had their efforts many of them would not work to their advantage; efforts would give them a bad reputation, go out of

The working experiences of individuals and families during the Gilded Age time period in America, which refers to the late nineteenth century, are varied due to many factors. These factors include but are not limited to age, level of skill, gender, economic class, language(s) spoken, and ethnic origin. It can be said that different groups of people faced drastically different challenges in the world of work; however, some of these challenges are more common within more groups of people than just one. Without a doubt, all Americans faced economic and social issues during this time because of corporate corruption and the lack of laws and programs that protected families from being overworked and provided insurance and care when workers were

Freedom in a utopian society is considered to be impeccable. Freedom was given to all and force by other people wouldn’t be necessary for this perfect place. But, during the Gilded Age, freedom wasn’t for everyone. People like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller (or the captains of industry) had more freedom than the workers of the time. Workers during this age had less freedom for the fact that they didn’t have nearly as much money as the Captains of Industry. With the low wages of this era, it was pretty much impossible to make money, unless your business became profoundly popular to the point where you could then call yourself a robber baron. For example: while workers and other middle-lower class people were at their jobs, high-class and other citizens with money were out and about doing things that they please. This was mainly for the fact that they could because they had the money to do so. So, in the reality of that time freedom was most definitely not for everyone. Now on to another ideal that should be honored in a utopian society.

The working conditions during the Gilded Age were poor and unstable. Many people lost their jobs for simply being sick or trying to take a day off because of a lost family member or friend. People would fight for power in the workplace. Workers organized the first large American labor unions during the Gilded Age. There were constant strikes and violence.

During the 19th century, workers were dealing with the changes that came with the industrial era. Companies were adapting with new technology and replacing skilled workers with new machinery. Skilled Workers were not being paid enough and some were losing their jobs to lower paid unskilled working immigrants, women, and children. Workers also had to work in dangerous conditions and risked loosing their job, due boom and bust cycle. Workers came together to protest against these work conditions which are known as labor unions.

In the late 19th century the work conditions for the laborers were terrible, they worked under unsafe conditions, with shifts longer than 10 hours a day, six days a week, for a very low income. Because of all of these regularly they lived near the factories where they worked in precarious conditions. The laborers basically just worked to lived day by day without other aspiration because they did not had the time or simply they did not receive the opportunity to grew. Women and children also were affected by the factories. Thanks to the poor conditions, they needed to work, but even if they have the same duties of men laborers, they got paid less. The labor movement grew with the interest to protect the workers from the industrial sector that

In present day the idea of slavery would not be tolerated, however in the first colonies and many years following slavery was common and accepted. America is not the only country to have to use slaves, many countries including Africa had them. As the colonies developed there became more opportunities to own land but the owners needed help tending to the crops. This started the volunteer indentured servitude who were mostly white to work off debt they had accumulated by their travels to the new land. They were given an amount of years they owed and would work until their contract is up. This was good for the land owners but would have to constantly find new workers when olds ones reached the end of their contract thus came the idea of slavery. The difference between indentured servitude and slavery is the amount of time a person is considered a slave. Slavery can be an entire lifetime with no end date while servitude had an expiration date. More land owners were willing to pay the high cost of slaves knowing it was a lifelong purchase and would not have to worry about finding new labor. Through the years slavery and changed and eventually gone away in America.