Unions In The Late 1800s: A Case Study
Unions
Main Idea
Reading Strategy
Reading Objectives
In an attempt to improve their working conditions, industrial workers came together to form unions in the late 1800s.
Sequencing As you read about the increase of American labor unions in the late 1800s, complete a time line similar to the one below by filling in the incidents of labor unrest discussed and the results of each incident.
• Describe industrial working conditions in the United States in the late 1800s.
• List the barriers to labor union growth.
Key Terms and Names deflation, trade union, industrial union, blacklist, lockout, Marxism, Knights of
Labor, arbitration, injunction, closed shop
!1875
1877
!1885
1877
Great Railroad
Strike …show more content…
The strike eventually involved
80,000 railroad workers in 11 states and affected twothirds of the nation’s railways. Angry strikers smashed equipment, tore up tracks, and blocked rail service in New York, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, St. Louis,
and Chicago. The governors of several states called out their militias to stop the violence. In many places, gun battles erupted between the militia and striking workers. Determined to stop the violence, President Hayes ordered the army to open the railroad between
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He then sent troops to
Chicago, where the strike had paralyzed the entire city. The troops restored order, but by the time the strike ended, more than 100 people lay dead, and millions of dollars of property had been destroyed.
The Knights of Labor The failure of the Great
Railroad Strike convinced many labor organizers that workers across the nation needed to be better organized. By the late 1870s, enough workers had joined a new organization, the Knights of Labor, to make it the first nationwide industrial union.
The Knights called for an eight-hour workday and a government bureau of labor statistics. They
Main Idea
Reading Strategy
Reading Objectives
In an attempt to improve their working conditions, industrial workers came together to form unions in the late 1800s.
Sequencing As you read about the increase of American labor unions in the late 1800s, complete a time line similar to the one below by filling in the incidents of labor unrest discussed and the results of each incident.
• Describe industrial working conditions in the United States in the late 1800s.
• List the barriers to labor union growth.
Key Terms and Names deflation, trade union, industrial union, blacklist, lockout, Marxism, Knights of
Labor, arbitration, injunction, closed shop
!1875
1877
!1885
1877
Great Railroad
Strike …show more content…
The strike eventually involved
80,000 railroad workers in 11 states and affected twothirds of the nation’s railways. Angry strikers smashed equipment, tore up tracks, and blocked rail service in New York, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, St. Louis,
and Chicago. The governors of several states called out their militias to stop the violence. In many places, gun battles erupted between the militia and striking workers. Determined to stop the violence, President Hayes ordered the army to open the railroad between
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He then sent troops to
Chicago, where the strike had paralyzed the entire city. The troops restored order, but by the time the strike ended, more than 100 people lay dead, and millions of dollars of property had been destroyed.
The Knights of Labor The failure of the Great
Railroad Strike convinced many labor organizers that workers across the nation needed to be better organized. By the late 1870s, enough workers had joined a new organization, the Knights of Labor, to make it the first nationwide industrial union.
The Knights called for an eight-hour workday and a government bureau of labor statistics. They