How Did Samuel Gompers Influence The Labor Movement

The Knights of Labor was the first major American labor union created around 1871. It was configured by all productive laborers from the factories to fields, whose leader was Terence V. Powderly. Their goals were to adopt a system that could which will secure the labor job and involve the government to protecting the workers. In addition they were fighting to obtain 8 hour work day, graduated income tax, cooperatives.

A man often criticized by his contemporaries, Samuel Gompers was a poor immigrant who left school at the age of ten but grew up to become one of the most influential people in labor union history. One of the founders of the American Federation of Labor, Gompers was instrumental in creating America’s first nationwide labor union. Gompers was vice-president of the Cigar Makers’ International Union Local 144 and the first president of the American Federation of Labor, positions he both held until his death. As president, one of Samuel Gompers’ main goals was improving the everyday lives of workers.

In Lizabeth Cohen’s book, Making a New Deal, it shows a timeline of the shift that took place in the American people during the Great Depression. Before the Great Depression in 1919 there was a wave of strikes that failed after the Great War. The disappointment from the little gains for the American working class caused the labors to abandon some of their values and look for better ways to organize the Unions. When the Great Depression hit America labors had to come up with new ideas and behaviors to create a stronger Unions. Stronger Unions made it possible for them to have power in national politics and still succeed in their work life.

AFL eventually later on started doing strikes because the workers wanted to and the AFL started catering to it “ Gompers saw strikes as dangerous but necessary and only to be undertaken as a last resort, but the key idea, again, was collective bargaining, or ongoing negotiations between the workers as a group, as a union, and their management”, “ workers tended to really want to stick to their own, and the AFL in a way catered to

Under the Wagner Act of 1935, the federal government had guaranteed that the right of employees to form unions and to bargain collectively. It also set up the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which also had the power to prohibit unfair labor practices by employers. In late 1935, a group of union leaders formed the Committee of Industrial Organization (CIO) to organize the unskilled workers in America's mass production industries. The CIO formed unions in the auto, glass, radio, rubber, and steel industries and by the end of 1937, which it then had more members than the American Federation of Labor (AFL)-3.7 million CIO members against 3.4 million American Federation of Labor members.

President wilson was a early 20th century president who sought to reform american society for the better. His reform focus during his presidency ranged from economical reforms to labor laws. He used his position of power with reform in mind in turn making him successful in bringing about positive changes to american society. Wilson did things such as create the Federal Reserve Bank in hopes to help stabilize the economy. Wilson was also strong supporter of labor laws which made him popular in the eyes of the working class.

The late 1800s marked the start of the Industrial Revolution for the United States. Prior to the rapid industrialization, people lived in rural communities and manufacturing was done largely by local craftsmen. After the Civil War, certain needs were emphasized such as the need for faster production, transportation, and better communication. All of these needs were met by the Industrial Revolution due to technological advancements. These advancements had great effects on the structure of cities at the time.

*Pullman Strike * The Pullman Strike was widespread by the United States railroad workers, approximately a quarter-million worker were on strike at the peak and it impacted the expedition the railroad system across the states. The strike between the American Railway Union and George Pullman changed the course of future strikes when President Grover Cleveland ordered federal troops to break up the strikers; its influenced how the federal government and the court system would handle labor issues. The labor issues during the Pullman Strike were not limited that of rights of the workers, the role of management in the workers private life, and the roles of government resolving labor conflicts. Pullman planned communities for his workers how he determined

It is a difficult task to challenge the social and economic policies of a country, especially one as patriotic as the United States during the post wartime Red scare era of the 1920 's. labor unions could account for this as they saw their membership fall from a high of 5 million in the 1920s to a mere 3.6 million by 1923(Rosenzweig 353). A combination of Supreme court decisions, Employer pressures and in many cases a lack of a strong leadership seen in previous individuals like Samuel Gompers contributed to this. Yet this trend surprisingly didn’t remain consistent as the great depression emerged around the 1930s. In fact they tripled there membership during the 1930s(Rosenzweig 429).They opened up, recruiting millions of women in their causes

The feeling, shown in Nast's illustration after the railroad strike of 1877, that amalgamations simply lead to more " communistic values" and general uniformity made it very arduous to genuinely get anything done. Samuel Gompers, progenitor of the American Federation of Labor, argued that the right to strike was absolutely obligatory if any reforms were going to be made and not even this right had been officially granted to the people by regime (Document I). Gompers made it very pellucid that not even the very substratum of organized labor had been established and so up until this point the advances that had been made, were virtually frivolous. In conclusion, from 1875-1900 very few advances were made through organized labor in achieving better working conditions for workers.

The AF of L wanted “unionism” and opposed socialism. TheKnights of Labor, another labor union, was created in 1869 and enlisted in their ranks not only alllaborers but also everyone who could be truly classified as a producer. Labor unions, the two major depressions and the three “robber barons” were three of theforemost reasons the Gilded Age got its name. The “robber barons” invested in things that wouldultimately lead to a “Golden Industrial Age” but they didn’t achieve it totally legitimately, and thecreation of the labor unions sided with the workers, but at times, grew violent in their methods.

Imagine working sixteen hours a day in an unsanitary, dangerous, place for a big business gaining two dollars. This is what laboring-class Americans had to go through during the Gilded age. Politically, the first largest American labor union was formed during the Gilded age and many other organizations formed as well as violent strikes. Socially, different ethnics joined together to share their thoughts and realize the evils of big business and of the federal government. Mentally, most we 're losing their personal life while some were financially stable and glad.

Farmers and Industrial Workers in the Gilded Age In a time when industrialization was booming, immigrants were racing towards the “American Dream”, and cities were growing towards the sky, the United States was thriving. As a country, the United States went from rural, to mostly urban, which made America “the world’s largest industrial power” as stated by John Green. Since the U.S. had become mostly urban, this left the very few rural workers (farmers), and even some of the industrial workers unhappy. This period of industrialization is called the Gilded Age than spans from 1865 to 1900.The farmers and industrial workers responded to the Gilded Age in significantly negative ways including unions against their authority, strikes and political

The AFL advocated for most of the same things as the Knights of Labor. The American Federation of Labor used strikes and boycotts against owners to try and get what they wanted. Two major strikes that occurred were the Pullman Strike and the Homestead Strike. Both strikes were very dangerous and had millions of dollars of damage. Some of the strikes and boycotts did work and wages were raised, however some backfired and many workers ended up losing their

Have you ever wondered what it would be like without transportation? In the 1890’s the railroad system, the main source of transportation at that time, came to a halt after a strike called the Pullman Strike. A severe depression had hit the United States in 1893. This hit a railroad manufacturing company called the Pullman company hard.