A Curriculum of United States Labor History for Teachers.

Sponsored by the Illinois Labor History Society

[Table of Contents]

Introduction

The United States has the bloodiest history of labor of any industrialized nation on Earth. It is a story rich in human drama and tragedy. It is also one of progress and hope. This is a resource that teachers of United States history can use to incorporate our rich social and labor history into their courses. Using the ideas employed here teachers will increase student understanding of the American economic system and the important issues we all face as workers today. The concepts and lessons will build on each other so that at the end of the school year the student should have a working knowledge of the importance of labor in society. A guiding theme of this work is how laborers have earned a voice in the workplace and increased their share of the economic pie. Teachers should highlight the stark contrast between today's working environment and the relationship between workers and owners of the past.

The scope of United States history has been divided into eleven basic periods. These will correspond with the unit divisions that many modern textbook companies use. In each period the main events and issues of US labor history are introduced. Concepts, ideas and resources are presented to aid the teacher. In several of the units specific lessons are available for immediate use.

It was not felt desirable to clutter this guide with footnotes. Therefore a complete list of sources used is listed in the bibliography.

This curriculum guide is created by James D. Brown, Jr. for the Illinois Labor History Society in cooperation with teachers from the metro Chicago area and local union members. The Illinois Labor History Society is a non-profit organization with a mission to preserve and promote awareness of labor history in Illinois. ILHS is staffed by volunteers. This project is also produced by volunteers and one graduate intern. The HTML version is maintained by Chicago-Kent College of Law.

A note on use of this document: occasionally, in the later portions of each chapter you will find handouts and documents that supplement the chapter and that involve student exercises. These materials are listed after the table of contents to provide you with direct access to them.

Contents

  1. The Colonial Period to 1763
  2. The Revolutionary Era: 1763-1789
  3. The Growth of a New Nation: 1789-1830
  4. Expansion and Sectionalism: 1830-1850
  5. The Civil War and Reconstruction: 1850-1877
  6. The Industrial Revolution and the Progressive Era: 1877-1913
  7. The First World War: 1914-1920
  8. The Roaring Twenties: 1921-1929
  9. The Great Depression: 1929-1939
  10. The Second World War: 1939-1945
  11. Post War America: 1946-Present
  12. Bibliography
  13. Significant People in America's Labor History For Possible Research
  14. Copyright and Use Statement

Handouts and other accompanying materials, arranged by section:

The Colonial Period to 1763.

Overview. The Europeans began arriving after 1492 upon the shores of the Americas. They found a land rich in resources and native culture. As news reached Europe it sparked a wave of explorations and ultimately colonization. Many, if not most, of the early colonists America arrived under some version of bound labor, either as a slave or an indentured servant. This was the way many free persons could pay for their passage. Upon arrival they would be sold out to an artisan, gentleman or farmer according to his or her abilities. They would then work for 5-7 years which would repay their passage costs. Slaves obviously had little chance to earn their freedom, though some did.

Labor Related Issues of the Period.

Selected Labor Related Events of the Period.

1440s
Opening of the African slave trade.
1619
Slavery introduced into Virginia
Virginia House of Burgesses formed, beginning of representative government in North America.
1620
Mayflower Compact signed creating "just and equal laws."
1620s
Beginning of New England town meetings
1648
Boston shoemakers and coopers form guilds.
1676
Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia, farmers revolt against corrupt government
1683
New York Chapter of Liberties gives freeholders the right to vote
1712
Carolina Slave Code created which regulates slave life.
1724
Carpenter's Company of Philadelphia chartered to assist carpenter's instruction and well-being.
1739
Stono Rebellion of slaves in South Carolina.
1765
The first society of working women is organized as an auxliary of the Sons of Liberty, called the Daughters of Liberty.
1766
Green Mountain uprising of farmers against landowners over the inequality of political power.

Important Concepts.

slavery, indentured servitude, free labor, mercantilism, profit, imperialism, apprenticeship, guild, colonialism, representative government

Integrating Labor History into Effective Teaching of the Period.

Lesson 1

Objective: To introduce students to the nature of early American labor. Students should note the lack of choice (freedom) many people had. Students are also introduced to analysis of primary resources and are asked to demonstrate evaluation skills.

Procedure: Create small groups of students and distribute the various documents to each group. Have students study the documents and explain what they learn about slavery and indentured servants from them. Wander from group to group and prod students to understand the lifestyle of the slaves and the indentured servants. Students could then report orally or in a more creative way through an editorial, editorial cartoon, newspaper style description, speech or a short essay. It is important that students rely on the evidence to support their opinions. Try having your students adopt roles as colonists and respond in the language and media of the times. Allow 15-25 minutes for the study of the document package.

Documents:
Appraisal of slaves belonging to Robert Carters in 1732.
A familiar advertisement from a Charleston, S.C. newspaper in 1766. Africans of the Windward Coast were known for their knowledge of rice cultivation. The Laurens referred to later became president of the Continental Congress (Henry Laurens).
Advertisement for help finding a runaway slave in the Virginia Gazette in 1767.
Advertisement requesting aid in apprehending three runaway indentured servants.
Official article of indenture from 1768.
Court document from Chester, England that commutes a death sentence to transportation to America and ultimately indentured servitude.

The Revolutionary Era: 1763-1789

Overview. In the colonies' struggle for independence, workers and their interests played an important role in the success of the revolutionary movement. One example most people are aware of is the Boston Massacre. This event had roots in the unhappiness of Boston ropemakers over competition from off duty British soldiers who sought casual work to supplement their wages. What began as a verbal confrontation between one ropemaker and a soldier moved to a confrontation between workers and sentries and then ended as a battle cry for the revolution. Further evidence of the importance of common people in the movement is the success of Thomas Paine's 1776 pamphlet, Common Sense, which was written for the masses and not the upper class. The tremendous sales (over 150,000 and three printings) indicate the level of interest the average person had in the emerging ideology of independence. During this period people continued to work and there were instances of workers uniting to better their condition. The involvement of the worker and the common person truly made this more than a rebellion into a revolution.

Labor Related Issues of the Period.

Labor Related Events of the Period.

1770
Boston Massacre precipatated by conflict between ropeworkers and British soldier.
1773
Carpenters dressed as Mohawk Indians help lead the Boston Tea Party.
1775
United Company of Philadelphia for Promoting American Manufacturing employs 400 women under one roof. Points toward future industrialization.
1776
Common Sense published throughout colonies.
Colonial delegates sign Declaration of Independence in Carpenter's Hall built by Carpenter's Company of Philadelphia.
The Wealth of Nations published which promotes laissez-faire economics, individualism yet opposes monopolies and mercantilism.
1777
British defeated at Saratoga saves New England from British.
1778
New York City journeyman printers unite and gain increase in wages. They then disband.
1781
Their defeat at Yorktown by Washington's army proves to British they cannot win.
1783
Treaty of Paris signed. England recognizes American independence.
1785
New York City shoemakers strike for three weeks.
1786
Printers in Philadelphia walk out to protest a wage reduction. Result: Gained a $6 a week minimum wage.
1787
Constitution counts five slaves as three people for Congressional representation.

Important Concepts.

free trade, independence, laissez faire, monopoly, strike, minimum wage, capitalism, equality (1776 version)

Integrating Labor History into Effective Teaching of the Period.

The Growth of a New Nation: 1789-1830

Overview: Jefferson had warned of the evils of an industrialized society where wealth seperated men. He and his supporters hoped America would remain a rural agricultural society where equality and a man's dignity could be maintained by tying men to the land. An industrial class system would erode democracy and equality. The Jeffersonians lost this struggle to retain their vision of America in the face of industrialization. Yet there were some who sought to blend these competing interests. A fine example of this is the experiment at Lowell. The founders of the Lowell experiment sought to preserve America's agricultural base by employing rural women who would supplement the income on the farm. The experiment failed and soon Jefferson's vision would be relegated to the history books (or curriculums).

Labor Related Issues of the Period

Labor Related Events of the Period

1790
Population of the young nation is counted at 3,929,214 in the first national census.
Cabinet and chairmakers in Philadelphia fight an attempt by employers to blacklist union members.
First textile mill is established in Pawtucket, Rhode Island by Samuel Slater for Ezekial Carpenter. All the workers are under age 12 -seven boys and two girls.
1791
Philadelphia carpenters struck unsuccessfully for a 10 hour day and overtime pay. First building trades strike
Alexander Hamilton praises women workers in his Report on Manufactures of December 5.
1792
Philadelphia shoemakers form the first local craft union for collective bargaining. Disband within a year.
1793
Cotton gin invented which makes cotton production easier and helps perpetuate slavery.
1794
The Typographic Society organized in New York by printers. Lasted over 10 years.
The Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers formed in Philadelphia by shoemakers. Tried for Conspiracy in 1806.
1797
Philadelphia carpenters go on strike.
1800
Gabriel Prosser organized an unsuccessful slave revolt near Richmond, Virginia.
1805
A Journeymen Cordwainers union in New York City included a closed shop clause in its constitution.
1806
Members of Philadelphia Journeymen Cordwainers tried for conspiracy after a strike for higher wages. Charged with combining to raise wages and to injure others. Forced to disband after being fined and going bankrupt. First union to be tried for conspiracy.
1808
Federal law prohibits the importation of slaves into the United States. Smuggling continued to bring in a small number of slaves until just before the Civil War.
1810
First American cigar factory opens in Suffield, Connecticut. All the workers are women.
90% of Americans do not live in cities.
66% of the clothing worn by non-urban Americans made from home manufacture according to US Treasury secretary.
1814
Power loom invented which makes weaving a factory occupation.
1817
New York state legislature passes a law that frees slaves born before 4 July 1799.
1819
Panic causes a six year depression. Manufacturers secure a tariff to protect them from foriegn competion.
1820
Industrial organization experiment begun in Lowell, Mass.
Missouri Compromise admits Missouri as a slave state but bans slavery in the northern Louisiana Territory.
1823
Hatters in New York City were tried and convicted of conspiracy.
1824
First reported strike of women workers when they join male weavers protesting wage reduction and extension of the workday in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
1825
Robert Owen founds utopian community in Illinois and Indiana. Fails in three years.
The United Tailoresses of New York, women only trade organization, formed.(New York City). To demand a wage increase, they struck in the first all women strike.
1827
The Mechanics Union of Trade Associations, made up of skilled workers in different trades, formed in Philadelphia. The first city-wide labor council.
Tailors in Philadelphia tried for conspiracy, verdict stressed the "injury to trade" aspect of their organization.
1828
Workingmen's Party formed in Philadelphia.
The first all-women factory strike in Dover, NH. See Lesson 2 below.
Philadelphia Mechanics Union of Trade Associations unsuccessfully strikes for a ten hour day.
1829
The Workingmen's Party of New York formed.

Important Concepts

blacklist, conspiracy, Cordwainers Conspiracy Cases, depression, Jefferson's Agrarian Democracy, panic (economic), strike, sweatshops or outwork

Integrating Labor History into Effective Teaching of the Period.

Have students research Jefferson's beliefs on industry and agrarian democracy as well as the opposing viewpoint of Hamilton. Then create a debate between each side. Assign some students to a panel which would then evaluate each side's arguments. This could be done as a unit review. To further this exercise, have students develop a compromise. Perhaps they will create a model like the Lowell system. The next unit will further explore Lowell, but not the ideal nature intended by the founders. Have students research some of the cordwainer conspiracy cases and have students prosecute and defend the union's actions.

See Commonwealth v. Pullis, 1806 (Pennsylvania); State of Maryland v. Powley, 1809; or People v. Melvin, 1810 (New York City). For reference and source material see A Documentary History of American Industrial Society, vol. II by John R. Commons, ed.

Lesson 2: The Millworkers Strike of 1828.

Materials: Paper, Legos(tm)

Objective: Students will be able to identify what a strike is and understand what may cause one.

Procedure:

  1. Organize students into small groups.
  2. Next, provide an equal and substantial amount of Legos(tm) to each group.
  3. Explain that it is their job to build a tower and that they will be given 1 point per inch of height.
  4. At your instruction, let them begin.
  5. As they are working begin to impose work rules until they go on strike. It shouldn't take long for someone to rebel.
  6. When a group rebels, offer that group's work to another group to complete.
  7. Keep making rules until more or all groups quit working.
  8. When you feel satisfied with the lack of progress, and before anarchy sets in, bring the class back to order and into their groups.
  9. Provide one piece of paper per group.
  10. Have each student write down one reason why they stopped working.
  11. Review these reasons as a class.
  12. Next, ask students to define "strike." All students should write a definition in their notebook.
  13. Tell students about the 1828 strike described below. Ask them to note similarities.
  14. Finally, assign points to groups based on what they completed and/or their contribution to the class discussion.

Suggested Rules:
One point fine for non-involvement per minute.
One point fine for each instance of talking.
One point fine for leaning back in their chairs.
One point fine for slouching.
One point fine for giggling.
One point fine for looking away from their work.

Background to the Activity: In 1828 in Dover, New Hampshire, women millworkers walked off their jobs at the Cocheco mill when the company imposed several new rules. The rules included a 12.5 cent fine for any tardiness, the introduction of a blacklist, and a ban on talking on the job. The result of the strike is unclear but the rules were withdrawn.

Lesson 3: The Working Men's Declaration of Independence, 1829.

Materials:Lesson 3 Handout

Objective: Students should identify concerns and grievances of the common worker during this period. Also, students must recognize the similarities between this document and the American Declaration of Independence of 1776. This is also an excellent chance for students to analyze source material and identify the role voice plays on its style and content.

Procedure: Include this as homework following your social history lessons on the period. Include information from the period's significant events and issues listed above. Distribute the handout and accompanying questions as homework. Review the questions aloud in class the next day.

Expansion and Sectionalism: 1830-1850

Overview: This was a significant period of reform in American history. Emerson and Thoreau were contemplating the essentials of life and William Lloyd Garrison founded the abolition movement. Out of this climate came the ten-hour movement. The ten-hour movement achieved legislative success in several states for the ten-hour day. However these laws contained one loophole which employers used. All these laws allowed employees to contract for longer hours if they wanted. Employers manipulated this to apply to all workers and those who refused were fired and/or blacklisted. The presence of an eager labor pool, caused by immigration, weakened employee's bargaining power on this and other issues.

Labor Related Issues of the Period

Labor Related Events of the Period

1831
Birth of American abolition movement when The Liberator published by William. L. Garrison.
Nat Turner leads a slave rebellion in Virginia, he was later killed and executed.
In New York City, 1600 tailoresses go on strike for two months over wages and lose.
1833
Workingmen's Ticket is a political party formed of men and women to promote labor ideology.
1834
The National Trades Union formed in New York City. The first attempt at a national labor federation.
The Factory Girls' Association is formed in Lowell and go on strike over working conditions and wages.
800 women go on strike over the right to organize and wage reductions in Dover, New Hampshire.
1835
Geneva shoemakers tried and convicted for conspiracy. See below.
1836
The National Cooperative Association of Cordwainers, the first national union of a specific trade, was founded in New York City.
A convention of mechanics, farmers, and workingmen met in Utica, NY. The wrote a Declaration of Rights which opposed bank notes, paper money, arbitrary power of the courts, and called for legislation to guarantee labor the right to organize to increase wages. They formed the Equal Rights Party to be free of existing party control.
Lowell girls go on strike again over working conditions and wages.
1837
Panic of 1837 puts an end to the National Trades Union and most other unions.
President Jackson declares ten hour day in Philadelphia Navy Yard to quell discontent caused by Panic of 1837.
1838
One-third of the nation's workers were unemployed due to the economic hard times.
1840
Ten hour day without reduction in pay proclaimed by President Van Buren for all federal employees on public works.
1842
In Commonwealth v. Hunt, the Massachusetts Supreme Court rules that labor unions, as such, are not illegal conspiracies.
Connecticut and Massachusetts pass laws prohibiting children from working over ten hours per day.
1844
200 delegates form New England Workingmen's Association to fight for the ten-hour day.
1845
Female workers in five cotton mills in Allegheny, Pennsylvania strike for the ten hour day. They are supported by workers in Lowell, Mass. and Manchester, New Hampshire.
First professional teacher's association is created in Massachusetts.
Sarah Bagley helps form the Female Labor Reform Association (an auxiallary of the New England Workingmen's Association) in Lowell, Mass. to work for a ten-hour day.
1847
New Hampshire is the first state to make the ten hour day the legal workday.
1848
Child labor law in Pennsylvania makes twelve the minimum age for workers in commercial occupations.
Pennsylvania passes a ten hour day law. When employers violate it women mill workers riot and attack the factory gates with axes.
1850
Compromise of 1850 perpetuates slavery and the sectional debates between North and South.

Important Concepts

abolition, panic (economic), ten-hour day

Integrating Labor History into Effective Teaching of the Period.

Debate the arguments in the Geneva shoemakers' case of 1835.

Note- The above is from Philip S. Foner's History of the Labor Movement in the United States: From Colonial Times to the Founding of the American Federation of Labor. (New York, International Publishers,1947) pp. 154-5. Foner found the quotes in John R. Commons' Documentary History of American Industrial Society, vol. IV.

Lesson 4: Slavery.

Divide your class into three groups.

Provide the two documents from the Lesson 4 handout. Give the pro-slavery team the opinion stated by Professor Dew and the opposing side the document from the Phalanx. Require that some students argue from a purely economic and labor point of view. Students should note how the northern workers and manufacturers felt that slave labor was unfair competition and that the extension of slave labor would not increase markets to sell their produced goods.

Assign points based on participation and students ability to stay within their role. The winning group should be determined by the panel who must give sound reasons for their selection. The panel will earn points based on their completion of tasks and their choice of winners and reasons for that choice.

Lesson 5: Problems facing workers

Use the documents included in Lesson 5 handouts for student study. This lesson will ask students to discover the problems workers faced during the 1830s and 1840s.

Pair students off and give one student the Declaration of Rights (1836), and one The Auction System for homework or classwork.. The pair will then make a joint statement, in their own words, on their findings about the problems facing workers at this time.

Lesson 6: Ten Hour Day.

Using the 1840 proclamation of a ten-hour day for some federal workers, students will make an assumption on the long range benefits of Van Buren's executive order for all workers.

Lesson 7: Lowell.

Use the primary sources included in Lesson 7 handouts. Break your class into groups of four and give each student in the group a different document to read for homework. Each student must then prepare a half page summary of conditions at the Lowell Mills with a list of specific details to present to his group the next day. The group's goal is to prepare their own statement on conditions at Lowell. It is important for the group to synthesize the information from the individual documents and express their findings in their own words.

The Civil War and Reconstruction: 1850-1877

Overview: The "peculiar institution" of slavery was obviously a major cause of the Civil War. Yet, it was not solely a moral issue. Northern workers did not want to compete against slave labor. How could they? As Northern workers sought to increase their share of the wealth, their brethren workers in the South labored without compensation. Northern labor leaders and industrialist thought the South was trying to destroy capitalism and spread its slave power aristocracy on the nation. Unfortunately there was no solution except war, but with the North's victory and passage of the 13th Amendment the "peculiar institution" of slavery was abolished. For blacks, the struggle was not over. A long road toward complete freedom was ahead, as it was for all workers.

Labor Related Issues of the Period

Labor Related Events of the Period

1850
US population is 23 million.
1852
The Typographical Union founded which is the first national workers organization to endure to the present day.
First state law limiting women's working day to ten hours passed in Ohio.
1859
Iron Molders Union formed in Philadelphia.
1860
Successful strike of 20,000 shoemakers in New England.
Abraham Lincoln, in support of New England shoemakers, says, "Thank God that we have a system of labor where there can be a strike."
1863
Emancipation Proclamation issued by Lincoln which frees slaves in southern areas occupied by Union forces.
Working Women's Union founded.
The present-day Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers founded.
1864
Legality of importing immigrants by holding a portion of their wages or property is upheld in the Contract Labor Law. These immigrants were often used as strikbreakers. Though this law was repealed in 1868, the practice was not outlawed until the passage of the Foran Act in 1885.
1865
13th Amendment to the Constitution bans slavery in US.
Great Eight Hour League formed in Massachusetts.
1866
National Labor Union formed in Baltimore, MD.
1867
Knights of St. Crispin founded which was a union open to all factory workers in the shoe industry.
General strike of Chicago trade unions demanding an 8 hour day.
1868
First federal 8 hour day passed, only applies to laborers, mechanics, and workmen employed by the government.
First state labor bureau passed in Massachusetts.
1869
In Washington DC, the Black National Labor Union founded under the leadership of Isaak Myers.
First local of the Knights of Labor founded in Philadelphia, it maintained extreme secrecy. Membership is open to blacks and women.
First national female union is organized, Daughters of St. Crispin. They hold a convention in Lynn, Massachusetts and elect Carrie Wilson as president.
1870
First written contract between coal miners and coal mine operators signed.
Due to overcrowding and unsanitary conditions, infant mortality in New York is 65% higher than in 1810.
1873
Panic of 1873 followed by a depression wipes out most national unions.
1874
Union label first used by Cigar Makers International Union.
In New York City, police injured dozens of unemployed at a rally.
1876
Mollie Maguires convicted for coalfield murders in Pennsylvania. Ten later hanged.
The party which will become the Socialist Labor Party organized.
1877
National railroad strikes crippled the country. Federal troops needed to be called out as some state militias sided with strikers.

Important Concepts.

Eight hour movement, Emancipation, Mollie Maguires, 13th Amendment, 14th Amendment, 15th Amendment

Integrating Labor History into Effective Teaching of the Period.

Lesson 8: Cost of Living 1851.

Students will read Lesson 8 handout and try to find the writer's opinion. The goal for students is to see the situation of workers presented in a statistical manner and read critically. Questions are included at the end of the document.

Lesson 9: Slavery.

Students will examine the Lesson 9 handouts.This activity should take 10-20 minutes.

Objective: Students will practice deductive skills as they think critically about slavery.

Procedure: Create small groups of 3-4 students. Provide each group with handout 1 and handout 2. Students will make a short list of descriptive words and phrases that explain what they see. Then they will make a list of reasons why slavery needed to be eradicated as an institution.

Lesson 10: The Contract Labor Law.

This handout is included for student study of the issues of immigration and how many of our ancestors came to America. Questions are included at the end of the document. Question 1 should focus students attention to the similarity between this law and the practices of importing indentured servants. Question 2 is a higher level thing question which would lend itself to debate.

The Industrial Revolution and the Progressive Era: 1877-1913

Overview: This period was an amazing time of growth in America. The population was growing at a staggering rate. In 1860 the US population was 31,443,321 and grew to 76,212,168 in 1900 and 92,228,496 in 1910. Railroads, the epitome of the industrialization, expanded from about 30,000 miles of track before the Civil War to nearly 270,000 miles in 1900. The industrial labor force nearly tripled between 1880 and 1910 to about 8 million. Large factories, which had existed only in the textile industry before the Civil War, increasingly became more common in a variety of industries. Labor was in high demand to run these new industries. Unfortunately, the continued high population growth spurred by immigration helped to keep the value of individual workers low as there was a ready supply of people to fill the positions. Yet this was an active and fascinating period in our nation's labor history. Workers continued to organize and resist when their way of life and or health were threatened. The study of this period should focus on the struggles of labor to secure safe working conditions, and reasonable compensation.

Labor Related Issues of the Period

Labor Related Events of the Period

1878
Greenback Labor Party organized by a merger of the Workingmen's Party and Greenback Party.
1879
Knights of Labor elect Terrence Powderly as Grand Master Workmen.
1881
Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, forerunner of the American Federation of Labor formed in Pittsburgh.
1882
First Labor Day celebration held in New York City.
1883
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen organized.
1884
The Garfield Assembly, the first all female female local of the Knights of Labor, is created.
Federal Bureau of Labor established as part of Department of the Interior.
1885
Immigration of laborers on contract is outlawed by the Foran Act.
1885-6
Period of greatest influence by Knights of Labor.
1886
In Columbus, Ohio, the American Federation of Labor is formed with Samuel Gompers as the first president.
Violence erupts following a mysterious explosion at Haymarket Square in Chicago during a rally in support of the 8 hour day.
1887
Seven accused in the Haymarket explosion are sentenced to death. Five are later executed.
1888
First federal labor relations law passed but it only applies to rail companies .
1890
The AFL, at their annual convention, announce their support for women's suffrage.
United Mine Workers of America formed.
1892
Homestead Strike in Pennsylvania. The Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers lose the fight over Carnegie Steel's attempt to break the union.
1893
Business depression.
1894
Strike by the American Railway Union against the Pullman Palace Car Company near Chicago is defeated by the use of injunctions and federal troops.
1898
Erdman Act passed which provides for mediation and voluntary arbitration on the railroads. This law replaces the 1888 law.
1900
International Ladies Garment Workers Union founded.
1901
United States Steel defeats the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers after a strike which lasted three months.
United Textile Workers of America founded.
1902
Coal miners in Pennsylvania end a five month strike and agree to arbitration with a presidential committee.
1903
At the annual AFL convention, blue collar and middle class women unite to form the National Women's Trade Union League. T his organization is created to help organize women. Mary Morton Kehew is elected president while Jane Addams is elected vice-president.
The Department of Commerce and Labor is formed.
Mother Jones (Mary Harris Jones) leads the March of the Mill Chi ldren to President Roosevelt's home in New York. Many of the children are victims of industrial accidents.
1905
In Chicago, the Industrial Workers of the World founded.
US Supreme Court in Lochner v. New York, declares a New York maximum hours law unconstitutional under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.
1906
Upton Sinclair publishes The Jungle which exposes the unsafe and unclean aspects of the Chicago meatpacking industry.
The International Typographical Union struck successfully for the 8 hour day which helped pave the way for shorter hours i n the printing trades.
1908
In Muller v. Oregon, the Supreme Court rules that female maximum hour laws are constitutional due to a woman's "physical structure and ...maternal functions."
Section 10 of the Erdman Act which deals with "yellow dog" contracts and forbids a person being fired for belonging to a union was declared unconstitutional. (US v. Adair)
1909
Two month strike by the International Ladies Garment Workers' Union was settled by providing preferential union hiring, a board of grievances, and a board of arbitration.
1911
Supreme Court upheld an injunction ordering the AFL to eliminate the Bucks Stove and Range Co. from its unfair list and to cease to promote an unlawful boycott. (Gompers v. Bucks Stove and Range Co.)
146 workers, mostly women, die in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in New York City. This leads the to the establishment of the New York Factory Investigating Commission to monitor factory condition.
1912
Massachusetts adapts the first minimum wage law for women and minors.
Textile strike led by the Industrial Workers of the World in Massachusetts wins wage increase.
1913
US Department of Labor established. Secretary of Labor given power to "act as a mediator and to appoint commissioners of conciliation in labor disputes."

Important Concepts

.arbitration, boycott, Haymarket Tragedy, Homestead Strike, injunction, Ludlow Massacre, Pinkertons, Pullman Strike, scientific management, Taylorism

Integrating Labor History into Effective Teaching of the Period.

statement of principle by Nat'l Assoc of Manufactires List of Documents From Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Nov. 8, 1888. Titled "The Female Slaves of New York-Sweaters and Their Victims."

The First World War: 1914-1920

Overview:

Labor Related Issues of the Period

Labor Related Events of the Period

1914
Clayton Act passed which limits the use of injunctions in labor disputes.
Ludlow Massacre in Colorado. Wives and children of striking miners are set aflame when National Guardsmen attack their tent colony during a strike against the Colora do Fuel and Iron Company.
President appoints the Colorado Coal Commission to investigate the Ludlow Massacre and labor conditions in the mines following an unsuccessful strike by the United Mine Workers.
1915
LaFollette Seamen's Act, which regulates the working conditions of seamen, created.
1916
8 hour day for railroad workers is created with the passage of the Adamson Act. This averts a nationwide strike.
A Federal child labor law is enacted but is later declared unconstitutional.
1917
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) strike in the Bisbee, Arizona copper mines ended with the deportation of 1200 miners to the desert by the local sheriff.
The president created a mediation commission, headed by the Secretary of Labo r to adjust wartime labor difficulties.
The Federal Government took control of the railroads until early 1920 under legislation which allowed government railroad operation during wartime.
1918
National War Labor Board created by President Wilson.
Women in Industry division of the Department of Labor established.
1919
The nationwide Great Steel Strike led by William Z. Foster defeated.
Labor leaders led by AFL President Samuel Gompers, recommended the inclusion of labor clauses creating an International Labour Organization into the Versailles Treaty.
Boston Police Strike- the first strike by public safety workers in US history.
United Mine Workers struck and earn a 27% wage increase during arbitration with a presidential commission. They were denied the 6 hour day and 5 day week.
1920
The Women in Industry division of the Department of Labor became the Women's Bureau, as part of the Department of Labor by an act of Congress.
The women's suffrage amendment ratified.
The Transportation Act established Railroad Labor Boa rd.

Important Concepts.

Integrating Labor History into Effective Teaching of the Period.

Tom Mooney Case

The Roaring Twenties: 1921-1929

Overview:

Labor Related Issues of the Period

Labor Related Events of the Period

1921
The Supreme Court held that nothing in the Clayton Act legalized secondary boycotts or protected unions against injunstions brought against them for conspiracy in restraint of trade.
The Presidential Commission on Unemployment placed the main responsibility for unemployment relief upon local communities.
In Truax v. Corrigan, the Supreme Court ruled that an Arizona law forbidding injunctions in labor disputes and permitting picketing was unconstitutional under the 14 amendement.
1922
The United Mine Workers was held not reponsible for local str ike action, and strike action was held not a conspiracy to restrain trade within the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. (Coronado Coal Co. v. UMMA)
In southern Illinois, coal strikers kill twenty guards and strikebreakers in the "Herrin Massacre".
1924
AFL President Samuel Gompers dies. William Green becomes the AFL president.
An amendment to the Constitution is proposed restricting child labor but not enough states passed the measure.
1926
The Railway Labor Act required employers to bargain collectively and not discriminate against employees who wanted to join a union. The act also provided for mediation and voluntary arbitration in labor disputes.
1927
The Longshoremen's and Harbor Worker's Compensation Act was passed.
The Journeymen Stone Cutters' action in trying to prevent purchase of nonunion cut stone was held to be an illegal restraint of interstate trade. (Bedford Cut Stone Co. v. Journemen Stone Cutters' Association, et al.)
1929
The Hayes-Cooper Act regu lating the shipment of prison labor goods in interstate commerce was approved.
The stock market crash in October began the longest economic period in American history.

Important Concepts.

Integrating Labor History into Effective Teachin g of the Period.

The Great Depression: 1929-1939

Overview:

Labor Related Issues of the Period

Labor Related Events of the Period

1929
The stock market crash in October began the longest economic period in American history.
1930
The Supreme Court upheld the Railway Labor Act's prohibition of employer interference or coercion in the choice of bargaining representative (Texas & N.O.R. Co. v. Brotherhood of Railway Clerks).
1931
In the Davis-Bacon Act, Congress provided for the payment of the prevailing wages to employees of contractors and subcontractors on public construction.
1932
The Anti-Injunction Act prohibited Federal injunctions in most labor disputes.
Wisconsin created the first unemployment insurance act in the United States.
1933
Francis Perkins becomes the Secretary of Labor and the first women named to a Cabinet position.
The Wagner-Peyser Act created the United States Employment Service within the Dept. of Labor.
1934
500,000 Southern millworkers walked off the job in the Great Uprising of '34.
The first National Labor Legislation Conference was called by the Secretary of Labor to obtain closer Federal-State cooperation in working out a sound national labor legislation program.
The US joined the International Labour Organization.
1935
The Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act) establishes the first national labor policy of protecting the right of workers to organize and to elect their representatives for collective bargaining.
The Guffey Act passed to stabilize the coal ind ustry and to improve labor conditions. Later declared unconstitutional (1936).
Social Security Act approved.
Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) formed within the AFL to foster industrial unionism.
1936
The United Rubber Workers (CIO), in the first large sit-down strike, won recognition at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.
In Flint, Michigan, United Auto Workers make effective use of the sit-down strike in a General Motors plant.
The Anti-Strikebreaker Act (Byrnes Act) declared it unlawful to transport or aid strikebreakers in interstate or foreign trade.
The Public Contracts Act (Walsh-Healey Act) established labor standards, including minimum wages, overtime pay, child and convict labor provisions, and safety standards on all federal contracts.
1937
General Motors agreed to recognize the United Auto Workers (CIO) as the bargaining agents for auto workers and not discriminate against union members following a year of sit-down strikes.
US Steel recognizes the Steel Workers Organizing Committee as the official bargaining agent of the steel workers. Workers also earn a 10% wage increase and a 8 hour day/40 hour week.
The Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act) was declared Constitutional by the Supreme Court (NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp.).
In south Chicago, 10 people were killed and 80 wounded in the Memorial Day Massacre during the "Little Steel" strikes. Police attacked an unarmed crowd of men and women who were supporting the strike between the Steel Workers Organizing Committee an d Republic Steel.
The 5 week strike "Little Steel" strike was broken when Inland Steel employees went back to work without union recognition or other gains.
The CIO is expelled from the AFL over charges of dual unionism or competition.
The National Apprenticeship Act passed which established the Bureau of Apprenticeship within the Dept. of Labor.
1938
A Federal Maritime Labor Board is created by the Merchant Marine Act.
The Fair Labor Standards Act created a $.25 minimum wage and time and a half for hours over 40 per week.
The CIO becomes the Congress of Industrial Organizations with John L. Lewis as its president.

Important Concepts.

collective bargaining, Fair Labor Standards Act, Memorial Day Massacre, overtime pay, sit-down strike, Social Security Act, Wagner Act

Integrating Labor History into Effective Teaching of the Period.

Have students interview their grandparents for information on their work experiences during this period. Students can find out how their grandparents were affected by the Depression and the policies of the New Deal. Students can then present this inform ation in short oral reports while you tabulate the findings to compare with the statistics of the period.
U.S. Unemployment (1933) 25%
U.S. Unemployment (rest of 1930s) 15 - 20%
Cleveland, OH Unemployment (1932) 50%
NYC Black. Unemployment (1930s) 5o%

The Second World War: 1939-1945

Overview:

Labor Related Issues of the Period

Labor Related Events of the Period

1940
In Apex Hosiery Co. v. Leader, the Supreme Court ruled that a sit-down strike is not an illegal restraint of trade under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in the absence of intent to control trade.
John L. Lewis resigned as CIO president to be rep laced by Philip Murray.
1941
The United Auto Workers were recognized by Ford Motor Company. They sign a union-shop agreement- the first in the auto industry.
The United States entered World War II on December 8.
The AFL and the CIO announce a no-strike pledge for t he duration of the war.
1942
The United Steelworkers of America was created to replace the Steel Workers Organizing Committee first established in 1936 by the CIO.
President Roosevelt establishes the National War Labor Board to determine procedures for settling labor d isputes.
The National War Labor Board establishes a procedure for wartime wage adjustments.
The Stabilization Act gives President Roosevelt the authority to stabilize wages based on September 15, 1942 levels.
1943
Roosevelt made an executive order to create a Committee on Fair Employment Practices to eliminate employment discrimination in war industries based on race, creed, color or national origin.
The Smith-Connally (War Labor Disputes Act) author ized plant seizure if needed to avoid interference with the war effort.
1944
There are 18,600,000 union workers in the US, 3,500,000 are women.
1945
World War II ends.
The CIO affiliated with the newly created World Federation of Trade Unions. The AFL did not join because it felt the labor organizations of the Soviet Union were not "free and democratic".

Important Concepts.

Integrating Labor History into Effective Teaching of the Period.

Have students interview women relatives to learn more about the contribution of women labor during the war. Students should focus on the work done, conditions, make up of the workforce and finally, on how demobilization affected their employment. See ww 2-iv.doc for a sample interview form. Students could report orally, or in a poster or essay format. Try to place the interview data into the context of what textbooks say about women's labor during the war.

Post War America: 1946- Present

Overview:

Labor Related Issues of the Period

Labor Related Events of the Period

1946
Largest strike wave in history as pent up labor troubles are unleashed by the end of war-time controls.
1947
Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act which restricts union activities and permits the states to pass "right-to-work" laws.
Th e Norris-La Guardia Act prohibition against injunctions in labor disputes was held to be inapplicable to the Government in U.S. v. John L. Lewis.
1948
General Motors and the United Auto Workers signed the first major contract with an escalator claus e, providing for wage increases based on the Consumer Price Index.
In Washington D.C., the Federal Governments first national conference on industrial safety met.
1949
An amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 directly prohibited child labor for the first time.
The CIO anti-Communist drive led to the expulsion of two unions at its annual convention. Nine other unions expelled by mid-1950.
Free, democratic trade unions from various countries withdrew from the World Federation of T rade Unions which came to be dominated by communists. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions formed in London by labor representatives of 51 countries.
1950
A five year contract between the United Auto Workers (UAW) and General Motors granted pensions, automatic cost of living wage adjustments and a modified union shop.
1951
An amendment to the Taft-Hartly Act permitted the negotiation of union shop agreements without previous polls of employees.
1952
President Truman seiz ed the steel industry when companies reject the Wage Stabilization Board's recommendations. An 8 week strike followed when the Supreme Court found the president's action unconstitutional.
George Meany became president of the AFL following the death of William Green. Walter Ruether, former UAW president, became president of the CIO following the death of Philip Murray.
1955
Ford Motor Company and the UAW agreed to a supplementary unemployment compensation plan financed by company contributions.
The AFL and CIO reunited with George Meany as the first president. This brought together about 85% of all union members under one large union.
1957
AFL-CIO expelled Bakery Workers, Laundry Workers and Teamsters for corruption.
1959
The La ndrum-Griffen Act (Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act) passed by Congress which regulates the internal affairs of unions in order to lessen corruption.
1962
Federal employee's unions given the right to bargain collectively with government agencies as a result of President Kennedy's executive order.
1963
The Equal Pay Act prohibited wage differences for workers based on sex.
1964
The Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
1966
Coalition bargaining occurred in negotiations between eleven unions and General Electric.
1968
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act went into effect. It made it illegal to discriminate in hiring or firing person bet ween 40-65 on the basis of age.
The UAW left the AFL-CIO and joined the Teamsters in forming the Alliance for Labor Action (ALA).
1969
The Department of Labor started to actively promote minority placement in the Philadelphia construction industr y.
1970
First mass postal strike in the history of the US Postal Service.
Hawaii became the first state to allow its state and local officials the right to strike.
Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA).
1973
The m ajor steel companies and the United Steelworkers of America approved an "Experimental Negotiation Agreement" where the union gave up the right to strike in favor of binding arbitration. The companies agreed to end stockpiling of products.
Washington b ecame the first state to allow the union shop for civil service employees.
1974
Coalition of Labor Union Women formed in Chicago.
Pension funds to be regulated by Congress under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
In response to the g rowth of public employee unionism, the AFL-CIO created a public employee department.
1975
80,000 members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) went on strike in the first legal large scale strike of public empl oyees.
1977
President and the Congress raised minimum wage to $2.65.
1980
The first woman was appointed to the AFL-CIO executive board, Joyce Miller.
1981
Most of the nation's air traffic controllers fired by President Reagan who then de certified their union in reponse to an illegal strike.
1990
Population of the US: 248,709,873.

Important Concepts.

binding arbitration, coalition bargaining, consumer price index, Equal Pay Act, escalator clause, Landrum-Griffen Act, mr ight-to-work laws, supplementary unemployment compensation, union shop

Integrating Labor History into Effective Teaching of the Period.

Have students interview family members about their experiences in union or non-union shops. Some students may h ave relatives that helped organize or tried to organize unions in their workplace. Some may have relatives who have worked in both types of a workplace, union or non-union. See i-view.doc for a sample form students can use in their interview. Students c an present their interviews in an informal oral report format or prepare essays or posters.

Significant People In America's Labor History For Possible Research.

* represents people who are easy to find in most encyclopedias. * Jane Addams
* John P. Altgeld
Mary Anderson
Sarah Bagely
Leonora Marie Barry
* Mary McLeod Bethune
Joseph Buchanan
* Cesar Chavez
* Tennesse Claflin
* Eugene Debs
Mary Dreier
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn
* William Z. Foster
* Samual Gompers
* William Green
Bill Haywood
Joe Hill (Joe Hillstrom)
* Jimmy Hoffa
Mary Harris Jones (Mother Jones)
Florence Kelly
* John L. Lewis
Frank Little
Peter J. McGuire
* George Meany
Isaak Myers
* John Mitchell
* Phillip Murray
Agnes Nester
Albert Parsons
Lucy Parsons
* Francis Perkins
Rose Pesotta
Terrence Powderly
* A. Phillip Randolph
* Walter Reuther
Elixabeth Rogers
August Spies
Alzina Stevens
Ira Steward
Adolph Strasser
Lizzie Swank
William Sylvius
* Victoria Woodhull
Levenia Wright

Bibliography

AFL-CIO, A Short History of American Labor,. adapted from AFL-CIO American Federationist (March 1981).

American Social History Project, Who Built America v. I & II, New York: Pantheon, 1992.

Brinkley, Alan. American History: A Survey, New York, McGraw-Hill Inc., 1995.

Blackford, Mansel G., and K. Austin Kerr, Business Enterprise in American History, Boston: Houghton Mifflen Co., 1986.

Commons, John R., ed. A Documentary History of American Industrial Society, vol I-X. Cleveland, Oh.: The Arthur H. Clark Co., 1910.

Filippelli, Ronald L. Labor in the USA: A History. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984.

Philip S. Foner, Women and the American Labor Movement: From Colonial Times to the Eve of World War I, New York: The Free Press, 1979.

Foner, Philip S., We the Other People: Alternative Declarations of Independence by Labor Groups, Farmers, Woman's Rights Advocates, Socialists, and Blacks, 1829-1975., Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1976.

Foner, Philip S., History of the Labor Movement in the United States: From Colonial Times to the Founding of the American Federation of Labor, New York: International Publishers, 1947.

Gallick, Rosemary, and Judith O'Sullivan, Workers and Allies: Female Participation in the American Trade Union Movement, 1824-1976, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1975.

Graebner, William. and Leonard Richards, ed. The American Record: Images of the Nation's Past. Vol. I: to 1877. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988.

Green, Janet Wells, From Forge to Fast Food: A History of Child Labor in New York State. Troy, New York: Council for Citizenship Education, 1995.

Hart, Albert B., American History told by Contemporaries, vol. III., New York: Macmillan & Co., 1901.

Microsoft Bookshelf 1994, Microsoft Corporation, 1994.

Microsoft Encarta 1995, Microsoft Corporation, 1995.

U.S. Department of Labor, Important Events in Labor History. GPO.

About ILHSThe Bulletin Board home The News DeskE-Mail Us

The Illinois Labor History Society
28 E. Jackson, Chicago, IL 60604
Phone: (312) 663-4107