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Chapter 13 Section 4
The Great Strikes
Gulf between rich and poor
• 1890- 9% of Americans held 75% of national wealth
• Many resented extravagant lifestyles of the very rich
• Many drawn to socialism
Socialism
• Favors public (government) control of the means of production
• Believed society, not individuals, should take charge of the nation’s wealth
• Equal distribution of wealth
Socialism
• Most American opposed Socialism
• Goes against free enterprise, private property, and individual liberty
Rise of Labor Unions
• Emerged after the Civil War to help members through bad times
• Soon became the means for expressing workers’ demands to employers– Shorter work days,
higher wages, better working conditions
Knights of Labor
• Formed in 1869• Organized all working
men and women, skilled and unskilled, into a single union
• Also recruited African Americans
• Sought equal pay for equal work, 8 hour work day, & end to child labor
Knights of Labor
• Membership eventually dropped when a series of strikes turned violent
• Gone by 1890s
American Federation of Labor
• Formed in 1886• Led by Samuel Gompers• Craft Union (only for
skilled workers)• Women and African
Americans rarely recruited
• Focused mainly on wages, hours, and working conditions
AFL Tactics
• Strikes• Boycotts• Collective bargaining-
workers negotiate as a group with employers– Has more power than a
single worker acting alone
The Wobblies
• Many opposed the AFL• Broke away and formed
the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) or the Wobblies
• Focused on unskilled workers
• Radical group-included many socialists
• Many of their strikes turned violent
Reaction of Employers
• Forbade union meetings• Fired union organizers• Forced new workers to
promise not to join unions• Refused to bargain
collectively• Refused to recognize
unions as the representatives of their workers
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
• July 1877• Baltimore & Ohio RR cut
wages by 10%• Some workers went on
strike and tried to prevent others from working
• Turned violent• Riots broke out and
spread to several cities
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
• President Hayes had to send in federal troops to restore order
• Violence continued between rioters and troops
Debs and the American Railway Union
• Debs thought the violence of the 1877 strike was the result of disorganization
• Proposed creating an industrial union to unite all railroad workers, skilled and unskilled
• Soon created the American Railway Union