the gilded age part 2: labor and unions. learning targets i can explain philosophies of wealth and...
TRANSCRIPT
Learning Targets
• I can explain philosophies of wealth and poverty that emerged during the Gilded Age.
• I can explain the formation of Unions and their successes and failures.
Philosophies of Wealth & Poverty
Captains of Industry• Fulfilled the American
Dream• Creative business methods
that benefitted the public• Philanthropy
Robber Barons• Crushed small businesses• Corrupt
– Bribes– Rebates, kickbacks– Stock watering
• Took advantage of poor workers
Philosophies of Wealth & Poverty
Herbert Spencer:• British economist• Coined the term “survival of
the fittest”• Advocated laissez faire
“Social Darwinism”
Philosophies of Wealth & Poverty
• “Acres of Diamonds”• Christian duty to
accumulate wealth• Wealthy should not directly
help the poor
Russell H. Conwell
Philosophies of Wealth & Poverty
“Gospel of Wealth” Andrew Carnegie• Wealthy had an obligation
to the greater good of society
• Philanthropy• Private charity through
education• Superiority of Anglo-Saxon
race
Labor and Unions
Working Conditions• Sucked• Low pay• No safety regulations• Long hours• No unemployment or
disability pay
Labor and Unions
Working Conditions• Women
– Lower class women, especially immigrants
– Paid by piecework– Paid less
• Children
Labor and Unions
Resistance:• Origins in the Panic of 1873• Begins in West Virginia
– Missouri – Illinois– Pennsylvania– Maryland
• Polarizing Effect• 1880s
The Great Railroad Strike (1877)
Labor and Unions
Unions:• Origins• Collective bargaining• Use of strikes & boycotts• “bread and butter” v. social
change (conservative v. radical)
A possible answer
Labor and Unions
Unions:• American philosophies of
wealth and poverty• American concepts of
freedom• Organization problems
– Skilled v. unskilled– Craft v. Industrial– Different cultures and
languages
• Unlimited workforce
Difficulty organizing
Labor and Unions
Unions:• Government opposition
– Injunctions– Soldiers
• Business tactics– Yellow Dog Contracts– Company Towns– Blacklists
Difficulty organizing
Labor and Unions
Early Unions:• First national labor union• Crossed industrial lines• Skilled and unskilled
workers• Dies after the Panic of 1873
National Labor Union
Labor and Unions
Early Unions:• Terrence Powderly • ALL workers (almost)• Progressive group• Advocated
– 8 hour workday– Sick days– Restrictions on women and child
labor– Civil rights for blacks and others– Graduated income tax– Government regulation of railroads
• Somewhat radical• 1 million members by 1886
The Knights of Labor
Labor and Unions
Early Unions:• May 1st strikes• Haymarket Square Riot• Results
The Knights of Labor
Labor and Unions
Strikes:• Carnegie steel mill in
Pennsylvania• Controlled by the
Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers
• Role of Henry Clay Frick• Results
Homestead (1892)
Labor and Unions
Early Unions:• Samuel Gompers (founded
in 1890)• Coalition of craft unions
(formed along trade lines)• Conservative
American Federation of Labor
Warm up: four corners
• Complete the analogy with one of the choices that follow. Write down your choice and your reasoning in your notebook.
• The Gilded age is like _________.– A group of turtles sunning on a log– A cheesecake– Disney’s The Little Mermaid– Salmon