Chapter 15: The Second
Industrial Revolution
Section 3: Labor Strives to
Organize
Government and Business

Government policies concerning
business practices usually benefited
business, not the worker.
Government and Business

Mr. Business-Owner says, “I believe in
capitalism and zero government
interference…
…unless the government interference
helps my business!”
For example…
 High tariffs (taxes on materials imported into
the U.S.) made imported steel much more
expensive than steel made in the U.S.

Government and Business

The government did little to regulate
business practices.

What about the Sherman Antitrust Act,
you might say?
 The act did not define exactly what a trust
or monopoly was, so it was difficult to
enforce.
 Corporations and trusts continued to
grow.
Government and Business

Government leaders paid little attention
to the widening gap between the rich and
the poor.

In 1890, 50% of the nation’s industrial
workers made less than $500 per year.
Question 1

How did the federal government help big
businesses?
The New Working Class

With all of the new
industry, there was
an increase in
demand for labor.
60
Many of these
workers were
immigrants.
By 1900, 1/3 of
U.S. industrial
workers were
foreign-born.
30


50
40
Agriculture
Industry
20
10
0
1860 1870 1880 1890 1900
The New Working Class
*African Americans

Thousands of African American workers
moved North to find jobs in industry.

Most southern industries did not allow
African Americans to hold factory jobs.
The New Working Class
*African Americans

Overall, the best jobs everywhere still
went to native-born white workers or
immigrants.

Even skilled African American male
laborers were confined to the dirtiest,
most dangerous jobs.
The New Working Class
*Women and Children

Most women only
worked because
their family needed
the income.
 The number of
female workers
doubled from 1870
to 1890.
The New Working Class
*Women and Children
The number of children in the workforce
doubled during this time as well.
 By 1890, nearly 20% of children between
ages 10-15 worked for a wage.
 Children worked in textile mills,
canneries, mines, and shoe factories.

Does this look safe to you?
This kid doesn’t
look very happy…
…and neither do his buddies.
How about shelling oysters for 12 hours a day for a
couple of pennies?
Working Conditions

Low wages and long hours affected all
industrial workers, regardless of age,
sex, or race.
Working Conditions
White male laborers worked at least 10
hours a day, six days a week, for less
than $10 a week.
 African American, Asian American, and
Mexican American men worked the
same hours for even less money.
 Women and children made less than half
the pay of white men.

Working Conditions
Most employers felt no responsibility for
work-related injuries or deaths.
 They made little effort to improve
workplace safety.

Working Conditions

Many companies built “company towns.”
Residents received paper money that could
only be used within the town at stores
owned by the company.
 Prices in those stores were higher than at
regular stores.

Question 2

What hardships did industrial workers
face?
The Knights of Labor

In 1869, nine
Philadelphia garment
workers, led by Uriah
Stephens, founded
the Knights of
Labor, an early labor
union.
 Terence V.
Powderly took over
in 1879.
The Knights of Labor

Powderly opened membership up to:
skilled and unskilled workers.
 women.
 African Americans (in 1883).


He opposed membership for Chinese
workers.
The Knights of Labor

The union fought for:
the eight-hour work day.
 equal pay for equal work.
 the end of child labor.

The Great Upheaval

In 1886 the nation experienced a year of
intense strikes and violent labor
confrontations known as the Great
Upheaval.

One of the most violent strikes of this time
was the Haymarket Riot.
The Haymarket Riot
Some 40,000 Chicago workers struck
against the McCormick Harvesting
Machine Company for an 8-hour
workday.
 The strike soon became led by political
radicals and anarchists (those who
oppose all forms of government).

The Haymarket Riot
A small rally by the workers was
organized. When 200 police officers
arrived, a bomb exploded in the middle
of the police force, and the police
responded with gunfire.
 Seven police officers and one civilian
were killed.
 Four of the anarchists were hanged as a
result.

Worker Activism Declines
Employers began forcing workers to sign
papers stating that they would not join
unions.
 If workers struck, employers would lock
them out and bring in other workers to
take their place.
 Union membership shrank.

The AFL

Many skilled workers
then joined the
American
Federation of Labor
(AFL).

This group,
however, was only
for skilled laborers,
and excluded
unskilled workers.
Question 3

How successful were labor strikes in the
late 1800s?


Not very successful.
Why?

violence