Week 2 Lecture Notes: Labor, Jim Crow, and the New South

Quiz structure and book orientation

• The quiz has two major components:
  • First component: simply knowing what happened (major events and characters) from the assigned novel.
  • Second component: understanding the historical context highlighted by the book, especially relating to society in the late 19th century.
• The book is a work of fiction, but it features a focus on major characters and events to trace through the narrative. The instructor notes that there may be no explicit or named characters in some parts, making it a bit tricky to track who is who, but the emphasis remains on identifying key figures and plot points.
• The historical emphasis centers on urbanization, immigration, labor, and social dynamics in the late 1800s, particularly in Chicago and other industrial centers.

The era and the urban/industrial context

• Massive influx of European immigrants in the late 19th century, especially from the south and eastern Europe, contributing to urban growth and labor supply.
• Core urbanization issues included factory work, railroads, mills, mines, slaughterhouses, and sweatshops, with a heavy reliance on unskilled labor.
• Economic conditions varied by wage class:
  • Unskilled workers generally earned less than skilled workers, and wage gaps persisted even as overall wages rose.
  • During recessions, employers laid off unskilled workers more readily.
• Working conditions were harsh:
  • Long hours and dangerous environments were common; typical workweeks stretched to around 59 hours across roughly six days of work (often with 10-hour days).
  • The United States had high rates of workplace deaths and accidents relative to other countries; there were few safety devices, no mandatory inspections, and limited or no safety regulations.
  • Many factories lacked fire escapes and basic safety measures; unventilated environments caused respiratory ailments in textile mills, cigarette factories, etc.
• Health and safety statistics:
  • Between 1888 and 1894, 16{,}000 railroad workers were killed and 170{,}000 were injured on the job across various industries.
• Gender and age dynamics in the labor force:
  • Immigrant women and children frequently filled unskilled positions due to lower wages.
  • Unskilled female workers earned about 7 per week, versus 10 per week for unskilled male workers.
  • Women commonly worked as maids or cooks in addition to factory work and clerical tasks like typewriting.
  • A widely held assumption was that married women would work for less pay because their husbands could provide for the family, though this was not universally true.
• Child labor:
  • Post-C Civil War trend toward child labor persisted; by 1880, about 1 in 6 children under the age of 14 worked full time.
  • By 1900, nearly 2{,}000{,}000 children labored for wages, often in textile mills and other factories.
  • In the Southern textile industry, up to about 25 ext{%} of employees were under 15.
  • Children as young as eight worked alongside adults, often for long hours (e.g., twelve hours a day, six days a week).
  • Night shift penalties included punishments like being kept awake by water thrown in their faces.
  • Child workers frequently missed education and faced higher injury risk; in factories, mills, mines, and canneries, child workers were three times more likely to be injured than adults; child workers had significantly lower life expectancy in factory conditions.

The rise of unions and major strikes (late 19th century)

• Periodic recessions and industrialization triggered widespread labor unrest and strikes.
• Notable strikes and labor conflicts include:
  • The Great Railroad Strike of 1877: wage cuts by railroads (. 10% wage reductions in 1873, followed by another 10% cut in 1877) led to a nationwide strike with significant violence and economic disruption.
  • Violence and civil war rhetoric surfaced as strikes escalated; some observers warned of a potential civil conflict between capital and labor.
  • The Great Strike period involved strikes in Pittsburgh and other cities, with hundreds of fatalities and widespread property damage.
  • The 1886 Haymarket affair grew from protests for the eight-hour workday; it culminated in a bombing at Haymarket Square and a widespread crackdown on labor activists, including the execution of several anarchist leaders and a shift in public opinion against the labor movement.
  • The 1880s saw rising immigrant radicalism and fears of anarchist violence, though most labor groups sought to avoid violence.
• Labor unions and their evolution:
  • Knights of Labor (founded in 1869): a national labor organization that sought to unite all workers (including skilled and unskilled, men and women, immigrants and African Americans; excluded lawyers, doctors, and bankers). They pursued broad reform goals:
  • End convict labor, an eight-hour workday, equal pay for women doing equal work, and currency reform (promotion of paper money).
  • The Knights favored boycotts over strikes and promoted inclusive membership, though they faced backlash from middle-class and business groups who associated unions with radicalism.
  • Leadership under Terrence V. Powderly (president from 1879) helped grow membership to as high as about 100{,}000 to 700{,}000 in the early 1880s, before decline after strikes and anti-union sentiment.
  • American Federation of Labor (AFL) (founded 1886): a shift toward craft unions and skilled workers; Samuel Gompers led the AFL until his death in 1924.
  • AFL focused on pragmatic gains: better wages, shorter hours, and improved working conditions for skilled workers.
  • AFL rejected the broader social reform approach of the Knights and emphasized practical bargaining with employers.
  • By 1920, AFL membership rose to about 4{,}000{,}000; by 1900 it was about 1{,}500{,}000 to 2{,}000{,}000 (note: figures vary by source; the transcript cites 4{,}000{,}000 by 1920 and roughly 15 ext{%} of non-agricultural workers belonged to the AFL).
• Major confrontations and outcomes:
  • Homestead Strike (1892): Carnegie Steel plant at Homestead; Henry Clay Frick refused to renew a contract with the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers; Frick defended the plant with a 12-foot fence, barbed wire, searchlights, and a private Pinkerton police force; a fourteen-hour gun battle ensued; seven workers were killed on the picket line; state militia eventually dispersed the strikers.
  • The 1892 strike demonstrated the limits of industrial violence and the power of state force in labor disputes.
  • The Pullman Strike (1894): a nationwide railroad strike sparked by wage cuts during an economic downturn; the Pullman Palace Car Company laid off workers and reduced wages, while housing rents remained high, creating harsh conditions in the company town.
  • The American Railway Union, led by Eugene V. Debs, joined the strike, which shut down most of the railroads in the Midwest and West; the federal government issued an injunction against the strike and federal troops restored order; Debs was jailed for six months for violating the injunction.
  • The violence and federal government responses to strikes contributed to public backlash against some labor movements and pushed the AFL to focus on skilled workers and negotiation rather than broader social revolution.
• The 1877-1894 period saw a cycle of strikes, violence, and government interventions that shaped labor relations and public opinion about unions.

The rise of the Knights of Labor vs the AFL: dynamics and outcomes

• Knights of Labor (1869–1880s): broad, inclusive labor organization; aimed to organize all workers; employed nonviolent tactics like boycotts; endorsed reforms beyond wages (e.g., eight-hour day, currency reform).
• AFL (from 1886): focused on skilled workers and concrete gains through bargaining; pragmatic in approach; sought incremental improvements rather than broad social reform.
• Public perception and political climate:
  • Middle-class Americans often associated unions with radicalism, socialism, and anarchism.
  • Anarchists and radical groups influenced public sentiment, though most unions rejected violence.
• Key leadership and figures:
  • Knights: Terence Powderly (leader) who promoted non-strike strategies.
  • AFL: Samuel Gompers (president from founding until 1924) who promoted craft unionism and organized labor around practical gains.
• Aftermath:
  • The Knights of Labor dissolved by the late 1880s/early 1890s, in part due to association with strikes and violence and public hostility.
  • The AFL grew in influence and membership, setting the stage for more structured labor relations in the early 20th century.

The New South and Jim Crow: political economy after the Civil War

• The New South vision (Henry Grady, editor of the Atlanta Constitution): a postbellum South rebounding through industrialization and economic diversification, moving away from a plantation-based economy.
  • Grady touted a “new South” with factories, diversified crops, and modern technology; envisioned democracy grounded in the rise of industry and the reduction of old aristocratic social structures.
  • He argued for competition with the North and the broader industrialization of the entire South.
• Grady’s industrial sectors in the New South:
  • Textile mills expanded significantly (roughly from a few dozen to several hundred by 1900); the South produced substantial textile output, bedding, and clothing.
  • Tobacco industry grew with mechanization; James B. Duke and the American Tobacco Company consolidated control of cigarette production, acquiring a dominant share (≈90 ext{%} of cigarette production by 1890).
  • Steel production grew in Birmingham, Alabama, earning the city the nickname “Pittsburgh of the South.”
• Social and political countercurrent:
  • Redeemers (conservative, pro-business Democrats) dominated Southern politics after Reconstruction and aimed to reduce taxation and public spending, especially on education.
  • The South remained economically behind the national average: by 1900, per-capita income in the South was about 60 ext{%} of the national average.
• The agricultural economy and new credit systems:
  • The cotton boom continued, but cotton prices and credit pressures affected small farmers.
  • The spread of a crop-lien or sharecropping system linked farmers to local merchants and landowners through credit for seed, food, clothing, and supplies, with a share of the crop owed to the landowners/merchants.
• The sharecropping system and tenancy:
  • Sharecroppers (mostly African Americans) worked land in return for a cabin, food, seeds, and about half the crop; they often did not own the land.
  • Tenant farmers (mostly white) owned livestock and tools but rented land; they typically received around 60% of the crop.
  • The system trapped both Black sharecroppers and poor White tenants in cycles of debt and dependence, contributing to persistent poverty in the rural South.
• The social and racial order in the New South:
  • The white supremacist political and social order persisted, with Reconstruction-era civil rights protections being rolled back.
  • The racial hierarchy was reinforced through disenfranchisement and segregation.

Disfranchisement and segregation: voting, law, and social control

• Legal frameworks aimed at disenfranchising Black voters:
  • The Mississippi Plan (1890): a multi-part strategy to disenfranchise Black voters through residency requirements, criminal disqualifications, poll taxes, and literacy or comprehension tests.
  • The Grandfather Clause (1898, Louisiana; adopted elsewhere by 1910): exempted some white voters from literacy tests if their grandfathers had voted before a cutoff date (typically 1867), effectively preserving white political power while excluding Black voters.
  • Literacy tests, good character clauses, and other legal devices further reduced Black political participation.
• The practical impact on Black political power:
  • Registered Black voters plummeted from about 130{,}000 in 1896 to roughly 5{,}320 by 1900 in Louisiana; Alabama saw similarly sharp declines in Black voter registration.
  • By 1900, Black political power in the South had largely been stripped away, with the white vote reduced by about 25 ext{%} in many areas.
• Segregation under Jim Crow:
  • Legal segregation spread to nearly all public accommodations and facilities: schools, hotels, restaurants, transportation, and even public services.
  • The Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) decision institutionalized the doctrine of “separate but equal,” allowing states to segregate public facilities on the basis of race.
  • Justice John Marshall Harlan’s dissent argued that the Constitution should be color-blind and that segregation violated equal protection under the law.
• Everyday enforcement and violence:
  • Segregation extended into housing, cemeteries, water fountains, and even public services for the disabled and the deceased; the social geography of towns and cities was deeply segregated.
  • Lynching became a terror tactic used to enforce white supremacy: on average, 188{-}1899, about 188 people were lynched per year, with the vast majority of victims Black men accused (often falsely) of crimes against white women.
  • Public display of lynching, including postcards depicting Black victims, reinforced racial terror and social norms.

Black leaders and debates over strategy in the post–Reconstruction era

• Booker T. Washington (c. 1856–1915): born into slavery; led the Tuskegee Institute; promoted economic self-reliance and vocational education as a path to uplift for Black Americans.
  • Washington’s Atlanta Compromise (1895) urged Black Americans to focus on practical skills and economic contributions (the advice to “Cast down your bucket where you are” in agriculture, mechanics, commerce, domestic service, and the professions).
  • Emphasized accommodation with white society and avoiding direct confrontation over civil rights, arguing that civil rights reforms would come with time and economic progress.
• W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963): scholar and activist who urged immediate civil rights and political equality.
  • Du Bois argued that Black Americans should pursue higher education and demand enforcement of civil rights laws; he criticized Washington for accepting de facto inferiority and for prioritizing economic work over political rights.
  • He advocated for voting rights, legal equality, and the enforcement of civil rights laws; emphasized the “Talented Tenth” and direct political activism as vehicles for change.
• The contrast and its impact:
  • Washington’s approach aimed at gradual progress through economic preparation and integration within American society; Du Bois pushed for immediate civil and political rights and more assertive public advocacy.
  • The debate between accommodation and agitation would influence later civil rights strategies in the 20th century.

Westward expansion, immigration, and race in the post–Civil War era

• Westward expansion and demographic shifts:
  • By 1900, about one-third of the American population lived west of the Mississippi; the West attracted a diverse mix of Europeans, Scandinavians, Germans, and Irish, along with significant Chinese immigration and other groups (e.g., Black settlers in the West).
  • The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 severely restricted Chinese immigration and influenced labor markets in the West.
• Exodusters and Black migration to the West:
  • Exodusters were African Americans moving westward from the Deep South to places like Kansas in search of better opportunities and to escape Jim Crow restrictions.
  • By the 1880s, there were roughly 25,000 Black Exodusters in Kansas; overall, Black Westward migration contributed to demographic shifts in the region.
  • Black Westward populations included a notable presence among cowboys in Texas, where as many as 25 ext{%} of cowboys were Black by some estimates.
• Northern and Western diversity and challenges:
  • The West saw significant immigrant labor, labor competition, and racial tensions; Chinese laborers faced exclusion and discrimination; Black migrants faced systemic racism and limited economic opportunity.
• Overall regional economic patterns:
  • The New South pursued industrialization and urban growth, while the West expanded agriculture, mining, railroad Development, and urban settlement.
  • Immigrant labor, new industries, and expansion of transportation networks transformed the economic landscape across the country.

Notable numerical references and quick references (summary)

• Working hours and labor conditions:
  • 59 hours/week on average (roughly six 10-hour days).
• Industrial and safety context:
  • The United States had the highest rate of workforce deaths and accidents in the world during the period.
  • 0 government inspections and few safety devices in factories; limited safety regulations.
• Economic and labor statistics:
  • Between 1888 and 1894: 16{,}000 railroad workers killed; 170{,}000 disabled on the job.
  • Strike participation across 1880–1900: about 6{,}600{,}000 workers participated in more than 23{,}000 strikes.
  • AFL membership: about 4{,}000{,}000 by 1920; about 15 ext{%} of nonagricultural workers belonged to the AFL by some estimates.
  • Textile sector and New South leadership: textile mills expanded to roughly hundreds of plants by 1900; the South produced significant textile output and textiles grew substantially.
  • Tobacco industry: the American Tobacco Company controlled roughly 90 ext{%} of cigarette production by the 1890s.
  • Birmingham, Alabama: major steel center nicknamed the "Pittsburgh of the South".
  • New South wealth distribution: per-capita income in the South around 60 ext{%} of the national average around 1900.
  • Education and literacy: literacy and education levels remained relatively low in parts of the South; education funding was limited under Redeemer leadership.
• Voting suppression and disenfranchisement:
  • Mississippi Plan (1890): residency, crime disqualification, poll taxes, literacy tests; disenfranchised many Black voters.
  • Grandfather Clause (1898, Louisiana): allowed whites with grandfathers who voted before 1867 to bypass literacy tests; extended to several states by 1910.
  • By 1900, Black registered voters fell dramatically (example: Louisiana from 130{,}000 in 1896 to 5{,}320 in 1900).
• Civil rights legal framework:
  • Civil Rights Act of 1875 declared unconstitutional by the Civil Rights Cases (1883); Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) upheld segregation with "separate but equal" justification; Harlan dissented, arguing color-blind equality.
• Westward and Exoduster data:
  • By 1890, about 520{,}000 Black people lived west of the Mississippi.
  • The West included significant immigrant populations (e.g., 45% foreign-born in North Dakota in 1890).

Connections to broader themes and real-world relevance

• Industrialization and labor during the Gilded Age laid groundwork for modern labor relations, workplace safety regulation, and the rise of organized labor as a political force.
• Racial segregation and disenfranchisement after Reconstruction shaped race relations in the U.S. for generations and influenced civil rights movements in the 20th century.
• The New South represents a pivotal pivot in regional economic strategy: from a slave-based to an industrial, diversified economy, with ongoing tensions between economic modernization and social/political reaction.
• The contrasting philosophies of Washington and Du Bois illustrate enduring debates about strategy for achieving equality, the role of education and economic empowerment, and the pace and nature of social change.
• The Westward expansion, immigration, and exclusion policies reveal competing impulses: opportunity and growth versus nativism and racial exclusion; these tensions continue to influence American policy and social dynamics.

Summary takeaways for the exam

• You should be able to:
  • Describe the two components of the quiz and the historical context highlighted by the novel.
  • Explain working-class conditions in the late 19th century, including hours, wages, safety, child labor, and health issues.
  • Identify major labor organizations (Knights of Labor vs AFL) and explain their goals, strategies, leadership, and outcomes.
  • Recount key strikes (Great Railroad Strike of 1877, Homestead, Haymarket, Pullman) and their significance for labor politics and public opinion.
  • Explain the New South vision, its industrial sectors (textiles, tobacco, steel), and the social/political structure that accompanied it (redeemers, segregation, education gaps).
  • Understand the system of sharecropping and tenant farming, its impact on Black and White farmers, and the economic mechanisms that tethered farmers to landowners and merchants.
  • Describe the disenfranchisement strategies (Mississippi Plan, Grandfather Clause, literacy tests) and their impact on Black political power; discuss Plessy v. Ferguson and the legal framework for segregation.
  • Compare Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois, their philosophies, and their influence on later civil rights movements.
  • Recognize the demographic shifts in the West, including Exodusters, Chinese Exclusion Act, and the role of immigrant labor in western expansion.