Summary Of The Industrial Society By Robert A. Divine

Based on the reading from America Past and Present, Volume 2, 10th Edition, Chapter 18: The Industrial Society by Robert A. Divine, the conflict between organized labor and business was a struggle for power. At times, the two would be able to work through their differences through major negotiations. But there were times when they could not come to an agreement and they were forced to go on strike. Business owners focused on strict labor laws. The labor union focused on work conditions and equal pay. Some workers had difficulties adjusting to the factory industry.
The working conditions were not that great. The labor union workers began to make demands of their bosses. The workforce was compiled of working men, women and a small percentage of children (boys and girls). The girls pay was much lower than the boys pay.
In 1866, William H. Sylvis joined several unions into one organization, the National Labor Union which had 640,000 members.
In 1886 Gould
The local, state and federal governments gave millions of dollars and land to help build the railroad tracks. The grants that the government gave to companies to be dishonest in order to make profits. One company bribed the government officials to not investigate. The railroads saved the government $1 billion between 1850 and 1945. (pages 418-419)
Andrew Carnegie worked in the railroad industry and then became an owner of a steel mill and hired thousands of labor workers. He believed in rights for the workers but he didn’t believe in the union. His workers would work 12 hours a day. He could produce more steel than Great Britain. J. Pierpont Morgan owned several steel companies and was a rival of Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie sold his steel business, Carnegie Steel to J. Pierpont Morgan for $1.4 billion in 1901 and began to focus on philanthropy. (pages