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In the changing cultural landscape starting in the antebellum period and on, the middle-class family started moving to the metropolis for economic opportunities. The shift into the city brought forward a new age of ruthless competition within the market economy that left laborers working inhuman conditions through our time period of 1919. In our timeline, we will focus on the culture of the exploitation of workers as well as the politics that lead workers to strike on numerous occasions. -
Young women who worked in the major textile manufacturing center in Lowell, Massachusetts, organized a strike to protest wage cuts and overwork in 1834 and 1836. After two unsuccessful strikes to try to minimize wage cuts, the women formed the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association to try to reduce the workday to 10 hours. Although the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association did not achieve much short term success, these women created the first union of working women in American history. -
Beginning in the 1840s labor organizations and activists began to advocate for the protection of children in factories and limited working hours. In 1842 parents from Fall River, Massachusetts formed a petition that asked the legislature for a law that “prohibiting the employment of children in manufacturing establishments at an age and for a number of hours which must be permanently injurious to their health and inconsistent with the education which is essential to their welfare.” -
The National Labor Union was founded in Baltimore. The goal of the NLU was to support workers through legal and collective action in the US. An initial demand of the union was a mandated 8 hour work day. NLU's founder, William Harding, had a vision of uniting laborers from all facets of work. It was in the best interest of every worker to unite as many laborers as possible but the union excluded African American workers. This first attempt at a union paved the way for future union organizations. -
The Knights of Labor began as an underground organization that advocated for the rights of workers. Unlike the NLU, Knights of Labor included African American workers as well as women and was committed to inclusion. They believed solidarity within a given class creates bargaining power to influence the federal government. The organization grew in size and expanded its advocacy to cover a wide variety of issues pertaining to labor. The organization saw growing success until 1886. -
The Panic of 1873 was a financial and banking crisis that triggered an economic depression in North America and Europe. With greater unemployment from 1873 to around 1879, white workers were “forced” to take jobs formerly only held by Chinese immigrants. With greater competition for fewer jobs, Chinese immigrants were increasingly subjected to racism and violence. Chinese racism and labor competition led Congress to pass the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. -
In the summer of 1881, a group of African American laundresses went on strike to protest for higher wages. To organize the strike, 20 laundresses formed a trade organization called the Washing Society. Quickly, the Washing Society expanded to 3,000 strikers and the strike grew so large that the laundresses could’ve shut down the city of Atlanta. The washerwomen’s strike made it clear that Black women workers were essential to the South’s economy, and they would not be ignored. -
The Knights of Labor staged a strike in Haymarket Square. The strike intended to advocate for an 8 hour work day. On May 4th, someone threw a bomb into the crowd of people. The bombing killed one police officer and injured several protestors. The person responsible for the bombing was never identified and the blame was placed on the Knights of Labor. This pivotal point in labor movement resulted in the perception of labor activists as violent and resulted in a decline in union membership. -
In a Homestead, Pennsylvania steel mill owned by Andrew Carnegie, violence broke out between the steel workers and Pinkerton detectives who were hired as guards. The violence broke out between the groups after tensions rose to a steaming level over a strike being held to protest wage cuts. At the arrival of the guards, the Homestead workers began actively firing on the boats carrying the guards. It led to the surrendering of the Pinkerton detectives and the deaths of about 12 people. -
In 1911, a fire erupted on the top floors of the Triangle shirtwaist factory. Because ladders on fire trucks were not tall enough to reach the 10th floor and the factory owners had locked the fire escapes, workers were trapped inside the factory. Although the fire lasted for only half of hour, 146 of the 500 workers died. This event inspired advocacy for workers rights, safety, and other fundamental reforms. -
In the antebellum period, workers fought to improve their pay/working conditions. Through strikes, organizations, and appalling events, workers began a movement to challenge conditions and reform capitalism. Behind the labor movement that emerged in the 1840s, was the motivation to keep women within the home and children protected. While there was some success in changing pay/working conditions, workers such as immigrants arriving in the 19th century did not benefit from the breakthrough. -