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National Labor Union Founded
The was the first significant effort after the Civil War to organize working people into a national union. Founder William Sylvis believed that every wage earner in America was at war with every capitalist. the NLU sought various political reforms such as voting rights for women and African Americans and the doubling of workers' average wages. The organization fell apart after 1872. -
Knights of Labor Founded
This labor union included both skilled and unskilled workers irrespective of gender and race. Under the leadership of Terence Powderly (1879-1893), the Knights of Labor grew to about 1 million workers by 1886. They led a movement for an 8-hour workday. Although the national leadership advised to avoid strikes, local chapters staged more than 1,500 strikes that involved 340,000 workers. They were also proponents of cooperatives where workers would have ownership of factories. -
Pres. Grant's Secretary Wants to Annex the Dominican Republic
Grant's secretary, General Orville Babcock, signed a treaty of annexation of the Dominican Republic (without telling anyone). Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, attacked the treaty and denounced Grant. The Senate rejected the treaty. From then on, Grant regarded Sumner and other senators who had opposed him as enemies. -
Tweed Ring is Exposed
William Marcy Tweed rose to power in NYC politics during the late 1850s and by 1861 had complete control over public policy and spending. He manipulated contracts and siphoned off $40 million to $200 million in New York City funds. Jailed in 1873,Tweed escaped to Spain in 1876. Later that year, the Spanish government returned him to the United States -
Credit Mobilier Scandal is Exposed
Credit Mobilier was a fake company established by the directors of the Union Pacific Railroad which they awarded fake contracts. Crédit Mobilier then contracted among themselves for the actual construction, gradually raising the cost per mile from $66,000 to $80,000, then to $96,000, and finally to $114,000 so that the final cost of the linkage was not the $44 million originally figured but $94 million. Crédit Mobilier had enriched the fraudulent gang by $50 million -
The Grange is at its Height of Popularity
One of the first attempts to organize famers was the Patrons of Husbandry (called the Grange). At its height it had about 1.5 million members. The Grange organized cooperatives designed to eliminate the role of merchants and creditors. By storing grain collectively, famers held their products back from the market, hoping to gain control of prices. -
Whiskey Ring Exposed
Pres. Grant had appointed a friend, General John D. McDonald, as collector of internal revenue in the district that included St. Louis, where the scandal began. McDonald accepted bribes from distillers to excuse them from paying the federal tax on whiskey. Tax collectors in Chicago, Milwaukee, and other cities also took kickbacks from distillers. The ring included Grant's close adviser Orville E. Babcock and other government officials. -
Farmers' Alliance is Founded
Reform organization founded in Texas, but spread throughout the South, West and Plains. The Alliance sought to inflate currency sometimes by the circulation of more paper currency, sometimes by the circulation of more silver. It also supported a system of cooperatives would allow farmers to pool their products and store them in warehouses until the best prices were available. It would sustain members through low-interest loans -
Pres. Rutherford B. Hayes Attempts Reforms
Hayes made clear that he would serve only one term as president so he could push civil service reform. His appointments were based on merit rather than on the spoils system, upsetting many. Congress refused to act on the civil service legislation that Hayes proposed. Later, Hayes was involved in a bitter fight with Senator Roscoe Conklin over the New York City Customhouse. 75% of the US's tariff revenue was collected there; Conkling handpicked the workers there. -
Great Railroad Strike Begins
In the middle of a depression and after a series of pay cuts over a period of 4 years, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad workers went on strike. Pres. Hayes sent federal troops to protect the line's property. Infuriated by this, railroad workers throughout the East and Midwest stopped working. When the state militia opened fire on strikers and their families in Pittsburgh, violence ensued all over. For weeks, police, federal troops and strikers clashed -
Greenback Party is at its Height of Popularity
Greenbackers believed that issuing large amounts of paper money would bring prosperity, especially to farmers, by raising prices and making debts easier to pay. Many farmers from the West and South joined the party, or promoted its policies in the Republican and Democratic parties. In 1878 it succeeded in electing 14 members of Congress. In 1880 the Greenback Party broadened its platform, supporting an income tax, an eight-hour day, and votes for women -
Pres. Arthur Signs Pendleton Act into Law
This law reformed the spoils system by prohibiting government workers from making political contributions. It authorized the president to establish a civil Service Commission to administer competitive examinations for federal jobs. A professional civil service free from partisan politics gradually emerged. -
American Federation of Labor Founded
After the Knights of Labor started to decline, the AFL became the major organizing body for skilled workers. Led by British immigrants, Samuel Gompers, it emphasized collective bargaining where representatives of a union negotiate with management on behalf of all members. The AFL discouraged political activism. -
Haymarket Riot
After police killed four unarmed workers during a scuffle with strikers in Chicago, rioting broke out when a bomb exploded that protested the killings. The bomb killed 7 policemen, 4 strikers and left 100 people wounded. -
American Federation of Labor Founded
After the Knights of Labor started to decline, the AFL became the major organizing body for skilled workers. Led by British immigrants, Samuel Gompers, it emphasized collective bargaining where representatives of a union negotiate with management on behalf of all members. The AFL discouraged political activism. -
Pres. Harrison Signs Sherman Anti-Trust Act into Law
The first antitrust legislation was passed by Congress with only one vote in opposition. It sought to promote economic competition by prohibiting business combinations in restraint of trade or commerce. -
Populist Party Founded
Initially called the People's Party, in 1892, the party nominated James B. Weaver of Iowa for president. Their platform called for free silver, government ownership of railroads and telegraph and telephone lines, and many political reforms. The candidates did not win, but they received more than a million popular votes and 22 electoral votes. Nine Populists were elected to Congress. -
Socialist Party Founded by Eugene V. Debs
Debs had been the president of the American Railway Union and founder of the Social Democratic Party. Debs ran for President in 1900, 1904 and 1912. Socialists demanded the collective ownership of industries, starting with ones that directly affected the livelihoods and safety of people: railroads and city utilities. They believed that profit motive distorted human behavior, forcing people to compete for survival as individual rather than joining to promote the common good.