The Problem Of The Twentieth Century Is The Color Line

W.E.B. DuBois made an argument that “the problem of the twentieth century is the color line.” After only covering the first third of the twentieth century it is a problem but not this main problem. The problem that was larger was the class disparity revolving around wages and working conditions. The color line was mainly a problem in the south where there was the most diversity. The labor dispute spanned coast to coast and was in the North and the South. The main points are the great steel strike of 1919, the sit in strike of UAW in 1936, the Adkins v. Children’s Hospital case all show the scope of the labor dispute and the effects that it has had on the work place.

The Great Steel Strike of 1919 took place in 1919 in centered in Chicago. It consisted of 36500 mostly immigrants. They were seeking better wages and the recognition of unions. The steel company then distributed propaganda saying that anti-unions was patriotism. This lead to native-born going back to work and the police in Pittsburgh ended the strike with an assault on workers in the streets ending the strike. This strike did not work but others continued to follow such in 1936. (Eric Foner, 759-760)
It was the United Auto Workers who did a sit down strike and halted production in General Motors’ plants in Cleveland and Michigan stopping the automobile production in the nerve center of the automobile production system. The strikers stopped police from entering and the governor unwilling to use force to dislodge the strikers. It took till Feb. 11 thill General Motors agreed to negotiate with the UAW. This shutdown two whole plants for almost two months. This was one victory in the labor dispute but not only man working faced this issue. Women also faced the same think. (Eric