-
Mar 27, 1400
Guilds
Organizations of skilled laborers in medieval and early modern Europe that regulated entry into trade -
Mar 27, 1500
Encomienda
Labor system in Spanish America that allowed kings to work natives in exchange for protection and Christian instruction -
South Atlantic System
Agricultural and commercial order that produced goods for an international market. Ruled by European planter-merchants and worked by thousands and thousands of African slaves. -
Stono Rebellion
In South Carolina, a slave uprising where slaves armed themselves, raided plantations, and killed several colonists. The slaves were aiming for freedom and some rights but instead, the rebellion was quickly suppressed. -
Shay's Rebellion
Uprising led by dissident farmers, many of them Revolutionary War veterans, who were against the taxation policies of the eastern elites in western Massachusetts who controlled the state's government. -
Industrial Revolution
Burst of inventions and expansion economically based on water/steam power and use of mechanical technology that changed industries such as cotton and iron. -
Waltham-Lowell System
Labor system using women recruited from families to work in factories in the north. Women lived in boardinghouses with strict rules and curfews and were often required to attend church. -
Carpetbaggers
Name from the ex-confederations for Northerners who moved to the South during Reconstruction in search of personal opportunity or gain -
Convict Leasing
System during Reconstruction where officials allowed private companies to hire prisoners to work under harsh conditions in industries like mining. -
Burlingame Treaty
Set official terms for the emigration of Chinese laborers to work in the U.S. -
Knights of Labor
First major organization of laborers in America's working class. Attempted to bridge boundaries of ethnicity, gender, ideology, race, and occupation to build a brotherhood of workers -
Farmer's Alliance
Advocated cooperative trade that involved middle men and wanted more government involvement in helping farmers and regulating railroads. -
Terrence Powderly
Headed of Knights of Labor. He was also a lawyer, mayor, the United States Commissioner General of Immigration, and a poor leader of the union. Powderly believed that the Knights was an educational tool to uplift the workingman, and he downplayed the use of strikes to achieve worker goals. -
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
Nationwide strike of thousands of railroad laborers who protested the growing power of railroad companies and the deep wage cuts implemented by managers during a depression. -
Munn v Illinois
Supreme case that affirmed that states could regulate key business, such as railroads, if those businesses were "clothed in the public interest." -
American Federation of Labor
Samuel Gompers created this organization to coordinate itinerary of unions and wanted direct negotiation with employers about benefits for skilled workers such as wages, hours, and working conditions. It resulted from the unsuccessful Knights of Labor and lasted until 1955. -
Haymarket Square
Demonstration by labor anarchists in Chicago where several workers and policemen were killed, creating a backlash on all unions, including Knights of Labor -
Samuel Gompers
Founder and first president of American Federation of Labor. Wanted collective bargaining, shorter hours and better wages to emancipating labor. Very anti-socialist. The AFL and Gompers openly supported the war effort, attempting to avoid strikes and boost morale while improving wages and expanding membership. -
Deskilling
Elimination of skilled labor. Due to mechanized manufacturing, workers completed several small, easy tasks rather than crafting a whole item. With deskilling, employers could pay workers less and easily replace them if necessary. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
Forbade anticompetitive business activities, requiring the federal government to look into any trusts/any companies operating in violation of the act. -
National Consumers' League
National organization that encouraged women to support fair wages and good conditions for workers through their shopping choices. -
Homestead Lockout
Lockout of workers in Pennsylvania in a steel mill after Carnegie refused to renew a union contract. Strikers attacked guards that were supposed to keep them out and protect the strikebreakers. National Guard was called in and suppressed the resistance. Homestead became a non-union mill. -
National Association of Manufacturers
Group of industrialists and business leaders opposed to government regulation. Group advocated capitalism through radio shows, movies, ads, and mail. -
Women's Trade Union League
Labor organization for women in New York that brought elite, middle-class, and working class women together. Supported union organization efforts -
National Child Labor Committee
Reform group that aimed to ban child labor by law. Hired muckrakers to expose harsh conditions that children had to work in. -
Eugene V. Debs
One of the founders and members of Industrial Workers of the World and 5 time socialist candidate for President of the U.S. Became one of the most famous American socialist and union leader because of his campaigns and work with labor movements. -
Clayton Antitrust Act
Law that gave federal definitions of "monopoly" and allowed the government to pursue antitrust cases. Also ensured that antitrust laws would apply to corporations, not unions. It also established the principle that, "the labor of a human
being is not a commodity or article of commerce." -
National War Labor Board
Agency that established an 8 hour work day for war workers, endorsed equal pay for women, and support the right for workers to unionize. -
John Lewis
President of United Mine Workers of America and driving force behind founding of Congress of Industrial Organization, which established United Steel Workers of America. Later left, taking some laborers and joining the AFL. -
Walter Reuther
Founder of American Automobile Workers and socialist that worked along side Communist Party in the automobile industry but also worked to get communists out of offices. Worked to strength labor union movement, raise wages, and give voice to union leaders. Supported the civil rights movement -
Bonus Army
Group of unemployed WWI veterans marched Washington, set up camps near the Capitol building, and demanded their payment of pension awards that were originally weren't supposed to be paid until 1945. President Hoover ordered the army to clear the veterans off of the streets and violence resulted from both sides as the veterans were pushed out. -
Civilian Conservation Corps
Relief program (part of New Deal) that gave jobs to millions of unemployed young men in the cities who built infrastructure elsewhere and helped preserve nature. -
Agricultural Adjustment Act
A New Deal act that was made to cut agricultural production to raise prices and help farmers with their profits and work. -
National Recovery Administration
Agency established to promote industrial recovery after Great Depression by encouraging industrialist to voluntarily adopt codes that defined fair working conditions, wages and minimized competition. -
Wagner Act
Act that upheld the right of industrial workers to join unions and established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a federal agency with the authority to protect workers from employer coercion and to guarantee collective bargaining. -
Works Progress Administration
WPA provided government-funded public works jobs to millions of unemployed Americans during Great Depression in construction areas and arts. -
Collective Bargaining
Negotiation technique between unions and employers where laborers would demand rising wages, more benefits, and more home ownership. -
Taft-Hartley Act
Act that overhauled the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, placing restrictions on organized labor that made it more difficult for unions to organize workers. -
United Farm Workers (UFW)
Union of farmers that strived for empowerment of mostly Mexican American migrant workers who faced discrimination, especially in the South. -
Equal Pay Act
Law that established idea of equal work. Women especially pushed for this and eventually won. -
March on Washington
A quarter of a million marched to Lincoln Memorial to demand an end to Jim Crow racial discrimination and launch job programs to aid the unemployed black communities -
Economic Opprotunity Act
Created a series of programs, including Job Corps and Upward Bound to provide younger people with employment. It was aimed to reduce poverty and increase economic growth -
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Bill passed in response to the Great Recession that gave money to local and state government for them to in turn give to schools, hospitals, and transportation projects. It was one of the single largest funding projects in American government.