HST122 McIntyre Test 1

What is the Labor Question

How is the work of society to be done? Who works for whom and under what conditions? Who is to benefit from industrial production? Can Democracy survive when most work for wages?

Industrialization

changes or reorganization of the way things are produced

Division of labor

Split parts of a job up to make people more efficent/ mastering 1 skill is better than being okay at all of them

Industrial Capitalism

means of production, the factories are owned by individuals who profit

Causes of Industrialization

1. Growing costs

2.Transportation is more available

Growing Costs

as the market grows it gives more incentives, the more incentive the more the market grows

Transportation is more available

by 1870 the whole nation is tied by RR so you can sell your goods anywhere

Americas Industrial Dominance

-1860 US ranks 4th in world industrial prod. ($1.8 billion)

-1900 US ranks 1st ($13 billion)

Immigration

-10 million immigrants between 1860-1900

-vast majority come from Europe

Old Immigrants

Up to 1890 NW Europe mostly Protestant

New Immigrants

After 1890 SE Europe mostly catholic seen as inferior to the Old seen as racially distinct

Urbanization

NYC

-1870: 940,000

-1900: 3.4 Million

Chicago

-1880: 300,000

-1900: 1.7 Million

The Impact of Industrialization

-Loss of Independence

-Increasing Economic Inequality

-Skilled vs Unskilled workers

-The experience of wage labor

Loss of Independence

-Upper class owners of industries, very large land owners

-Middle class people who are professionals they earn a salary, doctors lawyers white collar workers corporate managers

-Working class people who sell their labor for wages

Increasing Economic Inequality

1. Unprecedented Wealth

1870-1900 moderate wage growth

2. Alongside tremendous poverty

3 increasing concentration of wealth

Skilled vs Unskilled workers

1. Unskilled workers

-5 of 6 worked for wages

2. Skilled workers

-1 of 6 worked for wages

3. Difficulty unifying working class

-skilled workers earned more

Chain Migration

-neighborhoods in Italy would move to another neighborhood in America

-Single men would come and stay with a family from their country

The experience of wage labor

1. Long hours

2. Industrial Accidents

3 Wage Cuts

4. Unemployment

5. no safety net

Long Hours

10 to 12 hour work days 6 days a week

Industrial Accidents

-Very dangerous conditions

-1880-1900

-Avg yearly death- 35,000

-Avg yearly injury- 536,000

Justifying Inequality

-Social Darwinism

-Laissez-Faire Economics

-Legal Doctrine "Liberty of Contract"

Social Darwinism

-people who can't adapt should be left

-Natural Selection

-not actually Darwinism

Laissez-Faire Economics

minimal government intervention

Legal Doctrine

Liberty of contract- any sort of law passed that regulates labor conditions is unconstitutional

-good for employer

The Gilded Age Labor Movement

- Early Craft Unions

-Knights of Labor

-American Federation of Labor

Early Craft Unions

-Local Skilled Workers

Purpose- negotiating with employers over conditions

Knights of Labor

-1869 Garmet district in Philly secret frat society

Labor theory of value-Labor creates all wealth

-Capitalists who own companies and dont do labor are parasites

-Welcomed Unskilled workers

*wanted to start cooperative factories

did not accept Chinese people lol

Knights of Labor Activities

-Trade Unions

-Reform Society

-Political Partys: United labor party

-Cooperatives- Credit unions are cooperatives

Decline of the Knights

-1885- knights aided in the 1886 railroad strike and won

-1886 Railroad industry won

American Federation of Labor

-In 1886 national craft union formed

-wanted political unity among craft unions

Membership- is much less because you need to be a skilled worker

-believed they were better at negotiating with employers because they were skilled workers

-didnt want govt involvement bc the govt was on the side of the employer

The Impact of Third Parties

-the peoples party largest 3rd party effort in the late 19th century

-represented another challenge to growing corporate power

-the party had initial success but ultimately failed to gain support

Farmers Problems in the Gilded Age

1. Declining Crop price

2.Take on a lot of debt

3. High railroad rates

4. Fear of losing land

Declining Crop price

produce more crops due to advances in technology

Take on a lot of debt

-buying more equipment to compete to make money

-buy more land

High railroad rates

-small producers don't bring in as much so railroads charge more

The farmers alliance

-Orgins: begin to form at county level grew to regional

Railroad Regulation

-shouldnt be able to charge as much as they do

-get legislation to pass on railroad prices

Cooperative Principles

1. Farmers Exchanges

2. Subtreasury plan

Farmers Exchange

buy a share in it they help you market your crops

Subtreasury Plan

wanted Fed Govt. to build grain silos across the country

-Provide farmers with low interest loans

Entry into Politics-1890 Election

some of the 3rd parties were getting elected in some states

The peoples party

Founded-1892

Coalition Politics- Black and White- most blacks work the land as share croppers

Omaha Platfrom

1. Federal Subtreasury System (warehouses, low interest loans)

2. Nationalization of Railroads

3. *Progressive income tax (people pay more the more money they make)

4.Direct Election of US Senators (were elected by state legislation)

5. Introduction of initiative and referendum (forcing a vote on a law/ proposed law

6. Shorter working days for wage workers

7. Unlimited Coinage of Silver (free silver)

1892 Election

-Grover Cleveland(D)

-Benjamin Harrison(R)

-James Weaver(P)

Result: Took some of the electoral votes

Other Results- 3 populist governors, 15 populist congressman elected

1894 Election

-*1893 Severe economic depression

-increased votes to rural areas

-failed to make gains with urban workers

-number of congressman declined to 7

-seen as a disappointment

1896 Election

-Severe depression began in 1893

-Republican Nominee Gov. William McKinley(ohio)

--Platform

1.Higher tariff (helped out factory workers)

2.Gold

3.Live and let live

-Democratic Nominee William Jennings Bryan (Cong. Nebraska)

-silver vs gold democrats

-Bryan supported "free silver"

-The Populist Dilemma

--Bryan stole their thunder(in part)

--Decides to run a fusion campaign

--Nominate Bryan as their candidate too

Populisms Legacies

-peoples party fades away after 1896

-crop prices increase

-gold discoveries increase money supply

Positive Legacy

-introduced ideas later adapted in prog. era

1. Increased Democracy

-direct election of US Senators(17th amendment, 1913)

-Initiative and referendum

2. Increased Govt. Role to challenge corporate power

Negative Legacy

1. Disfranchisement

-every southern state 1890-1906

-poll tax

-Literacy test

-Grandfather clause

-in part a result of:

--Democrats fears of populists biracial coalition

--Populists scape boating of black voters after defeats

Jim Crow Laws

-less directly connected to populism

-laws segregating public facilites

-Schools

-Hospitals

-Theaters

-Street Cars

-Restroom

W.E.B. DeBois

-Black reconstruction

-Said poor southern whites earned a psychological wage

Progressive Reform c.1895-1917

-By 1900 Americans increasingly aware of 4 problems

*the things that justify inequality

-powerful corporations

-Poverty

-Politcal Corruption

-Urban Vice

-Progressive reform was a response of the middle class

Powerful Corporations

posed threat to:

-workers

-consumers

-small business owners

Poverty

-Jacob Riis- How the other Half lives (1890)

Politcal Corruption

-Politcal Machines

--Political Boss-Runs the machine

-Boss George B Cox (Cincinnati)

-Tried to get involved in city govt

--Helped out poorer immigrants

Urban Vice

Young people in dance halls scandalous

Barriers to Action: 19th Century Thinking

-Social Darwinism

-Laissez Faire Economic Philosophy

-Liberty of Contract

The Progressives: New ways of thinking

-Who were the progressives

-Progressive Intelectual Traits

-3 types of Progressive reforms

Who were the progressives

-Concerned about social problems

-middle class professionals

-many college educated women

-- women couldnt find high paying jobs when they graduated

*Progressive Intellectual Traits

1. Permanence of large corp

2. empirical investigations of problems

3. faith in progress

4. intervention of experts

5. idealism

3 types of progressive reforms

1. Social Progressives

-people concerned with social and eco. justice

2. Politcal Progressives

-concerned with political corruption

3. Social Control Progressive

-Concerned with urban vice

they're not exclusive you can be all of them

Social Progressives

-Settlement houses were for upper class reformers to live in the city

--class conflict

--Socialist Party

-Industrial Workers of the World (Wobblies) accepted EVERYONE

Politcal Progressives

-Power of political bosses

-Reforms

--at large election

--you run for the whole city

--City manager form of Govt.

-Politcal wards almost like districts that you run for

Social Control Progressives

-Commercial leisure and urban vice

1. Movies

-Nickelodeans

--big for the immigrant working

2. Dancehalls

-spieling sexual slow dancing

-sent people into the dance halls to investigate

Reform Efforts

-Movies

-Dance halls

Movies

-National Board of Censorship

--Non govt org

--they go through movies and decide what needs to be censored

Dance Halls

-some banned alcohol in dance halls

-had to b e18 to get in

Industrial workers of the world

-socialist party

-workers have nothing in common with employers

-accepted everyone

Vision-organize until gained enough support for a big strike

-never happened

Child Labor

-National Child Labor committee(1904) investigated, wrote reports, drew models for child labor

-by 1905- 1907 2/3 of state in the country passed child labor laws

-set max hours for children

-set minimum age

Keatry-Owens Act (1916)

-Forbide use of child labor to make interstate commerce goods

- 2 years later, supreme court declared this law unconstitutional

-during 1920s child labor declined

-due to use of steam powered machinery

Working women

-reforms believed children and women need more help with employment situation

--feminists supported this

-by 1910 majority of states passed laws that limit womens hours

-laws regulating hours and wages

-less successful with wages

Women Trade Union League

-garment industry conditions were terrible

-raised money and provided support for women on strike picket lines

-police would beat/ arrest women on strike

-upper class women would walk picket lines

-garment industry is bad today out of our country

same conditions different country

The Carnage of War

-8.5 million military casualties

-21.2 million wounded

-another 7 million civilian casualties

*US Role

-tried to stay neutral

- entered war late in 1917

-President Wilson tried to create a new framework for international relations

-god of preventing future wars

-neither our allies nor congress would fully support his efforts

Four M.A.I.N. underlying causes of the war

-Militarism

-Alliances

-Imperialism

-Nationalism

Militarism

-Growth of military spending

-arms race

-militaries increasingly influential

Alliances (pre war)

-Triple Alliance

--Germany

--Austria-Hungary

--Italy

-Triple Entente

--Great Britain

--France

--Russia

Nationalism

-Germany rising nation after unification in 1817

-Challenging great britains power

Imperialism

-Colonization of Africa and Asia

-Conflict over Colonies and trade

-Britain largest empire

Immediate cause of the war

1. Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

-occurred in in Bosnia on June 28 1914

2 Road to War

-A-H declares war on Serbia July 28 1914

-Russia comes to the aid of Serbia

-Draws 2 alliance systems into war by august 1914

Wartime Alliances

Central Powers

-Germany

-Austria-Hungary

-Ottoman Empire

Allies

-Great Britain

-France

-Russia

-Italy

President Wilson declares neutrality

-Popular position

-re-elected in 1916 with the motto 'He kept us out of war'

Difficulty remaining neutral

-ethnic groups took sides

-US had greater economic ties to Allies

-Wilson sympathetic to Allies

American Entry into the war

-European Naval Warfare

--British blockade of germany (1914)

-German Submarine Warfare

-sinking of the Lusitania (May 1915)

-Germany suspends attacks (May 1916)

-Germany resumes attacks (Jan-March 1917)

-Industrial production capacity is key winning wars advantage was on the Allies

The Zimmerman Telegram

Germany tries to get mexico to attack us Britian intercepts message and turns it over to America

Wilsons 14 point speech (January 1918)

-Free trade/end to empires

-Political Self-Determination

-Collective security: League of Nations

Allies Interests different

-Protection/ expansion of empires

-punishment of germany- reparations

-Russian Revolution-Oct 1917

-Communists- Bolsheviks

-Leader- Vladimir Lenin

Negotiating the Peace

-Germany seeks peace (Nov 1918)

-Paris Peace Conference (Dec 1918-Spring 1919)

--Big 3:US , Britain, France

-Treaty of Versailles

Wilsons Victories

-League of Nations created

-High Council

-5 members: US, Britain, France, Italy, and Japan

-Self -Determination in Eastern Europe

Wilsons Defeats

-German Reparations

-No free trade

-No end to empires

-creation of mandates

America rejects the Treaty

-Wilsons Campaign for treaty

-Objection to the treaty

--Wilson bastardized principles- sold out

--League of Nations an imperialist club

--League interferes with US unilateralism

--Racists critiques of the League