Essay On The Haymarket Affair

Another result of the Triangle Factory fire that resulted in change in the American workplace was the attempts of labor unions and strikes. Prior to the fire, in 1909, one of the more notable strikes dubbed the "Uprising of 20,000" was organized primarily by female immigrant garment workers because of the awful conditions, long hours, and low wages they were made to work in due to the lack of options available to them (Pool, 2012). The primary challenge was to get attention paid to the mistreatment of immigrant workers. While there were short term agreements for their demands, the strike ultimately failed, however where it did succeed was exposing poor working conditions and stirring a debate about what counted as public and private (Pool,

The industrial workers responded by striking in the Pullman Strike. Pullman, Illinois was a company town, which meant that the workers had to pay rent to the company. The Panic of 1893 occurred, and there was a low demand for private railroad cars. As a result, the Pullman Company laid off workers and decreased wages but kept the rent at the same price. This led to the American Railway Union leading a strike. Protesters were furious and wanted to burn down the trains. This strike caused the Pullman Company to protect their train cars with guns. Eventually, the federal government was called to end the strike. Not only did industrial workers respond by uniting together for the Pullman Strike, but the industrial workers also went on strike at the Haymarket Square Riot. The Haymarket Square Riot took place in Chicago in 1884. The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions announced a national strike for an eight-hour work day. The strike turned into a riot when a person from the crowd threw a bomb killing at least eight people. The bomb lit up the street with people on strike running for their lives. Eight radical labor activists were charged in connection to the bombing, even with a lack of evidence. The strike had a horrific impact on the labor union and caused it to lose its power. As the Knights of Labor declines, the American Federation of Labor rose to power. Samuel Gompers, American Labor Union leader, led the American Federation of Labor. The American Federation of Labor wanted eight-hour work days, no Asian immigration, and a day of celebrating labor workers for their hard work. Once the Knights of Labor declined in power, the American Federation of Labor was only for craft unions. African Americans and women were not welcomed. Samuel Gompers shifted to strikes and boycotts instead of focusing on “bread and butter” issues. Industrial

During the Gilded Age, the police was an entity highly corrupt. Also, police officer positions were political appointments. In general, a police officer did not earn too much money for salary, they got it from the extortion, conning and some numerous other illegal practices.

The fired had took with it 146 worker lives and wounded 71 workers, because the factory owner chained shut the door so the workers cannot have unauthorized breaks. Not only that, but the factory’s facilities were worn out and old that it disintegrated almost immediately. A year before the horrendous deaths of these workers, they “had gone out on strike demanding union recognition, higher wages, and better safety conditions” (The American Yawp, Ch.20-2). Yet, this is how they responded to the workers’ demands. Due to occurrences like the Triangle Shirtwaist factory, it called for many activists raised and pushed forward reforming America, and the government to interfere with the economy. Our 27th President, Theodore Roosevelt, addressed that “our government, national and State, must be freed from the sinister influence or control of special interests. Exactly as the special interests of cotton and slavery threatened our political integrity before the Civil War, so now the great special business interests too often control and corrupt the men and methods of government for their own profit” (Roosevelt, 1910).

Both the federal government and the state governments of Colorado and West Virginia did not want unions to form, because they viewed that as a form of socialism, or even worse, communism. This can be seen when the preacher at the Free Church in the movie begins talking about in his sermon the evils of unions, because it will bring socialism, which is the Devil’s work. Violence is also an important tactic used by the government to strike fear into the union. In Ludlow, both the military and the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency were brought into to protect strikebreakers that were brought in, as well as try to provoke violence by the union that would turn public attitude against the union. While several people eventually died because of violence, companies would eventually let workers unionize, and gave them more compensation than they had before, even though it may have been

In the late nineteenth century, the railroad industry was booming. But it’s growth was followed by labor arguments, including the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. This strike was the first major rail strike, and it was disputed with enough violence to bring in various state militias. The Strike began when northern railroads cut salaries and wages because they still felt the impact of the Panic of 1873. The cuts were met with strikes and violence, but the railroads fought back with even more pay cuts, like the Pennsylvania Railroad lowering all wages by ten percent. A few months later, the same rail line decided it would double the length of all eastbound trains but kept the same amount of workers. The employees

The workers gather to listen to several speakers over the five days near the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company among those giving the speaks there was both a pled from those who discouraged violence and encourage the crowd to join together against the companies; however, this was also a pled from those who urge worked to take action of violent revolution. The Haymarket Riot turned into a violent event resulting in a controversy trial that supported the discrimination against union members. Perhaps the greatest lasting effect of the riot was that it created a widespread revulsion against union, which caused membership to decline and reduce union influence; because unions became lined to radical ideas and violence in the popular mind. (Avial,2011) The Haymarket riot stalled the progress for that union worked made for impelling an eight-hour

“It was inevitable that Britain should some day refuse to rule India and that India should some day refuse to be ruled.” Mahatma Gandhi is known as one of the 20th century’s most influential people and is seen in India as the Father of the Nation. How he achieved such status was through his attempts at protest, negotiation and non cooperation through his philosophy of Satyagraha to better the lives of the Indian people. While in the end his policies got the job done, one can ask if unwavering nonviolence really was the most effective way at ousting the British from India. Though failed non cooperation movements show Gandhi’s policy as being somewhat ineffective, analysis of the of the Salt March, its results and the way that Gandhi was able to rally followers show its importance. Gandhi’s policy of Satyagraha was in fact the most effective method of gaining India’s independence from Britain.

In the 1840’s there was a wave of democratization created after Jackson’s presidency. It was created the value of the common man, and the importance of every person who was in the government. Of course, there were exceptions to this rule as there still certain groups like blacks or women that were viewed as inferior, but the majority of the population felt like they had worth. This led to series of reforms: hospitals for the mentally ill, schools for people with physical disabilities, the temperance movement, and labor unions. This movements fought a better society with better treatment even though there would be no economic incentives to do so.

The author Andrew Curry thinks that workers today are unfulfilled because they would rather work a job they do not like and earn more money than work a job that they are passionate about and earn less. He also talks about how people seem to work more than relax in today's age like when he says “instead of working less, our hours have stayed steady or risen.” (Curry, Kirszner and Mandell 399) the evidence that he uses to connect his view is the amount of people who complain about their jobs. Nowadays everyone knows a person that constantly complains about his or her job but they still work that same job because of the financial gain. Many people today hate the job they work but that same job is the reason they have a car, house etc. furthermore

Working conditions in industries were not safe for the working people. Many industries required work for long hours of physical labor. In the workplaces it was often hot, steam engines contributing, and machinery was not always fenced off (Working Conditions in the Industrial Revolution). Workers had the potential to get caught in the machines because they were exposed. Children were employed to move between these dangerous machines as they were small enough to fit between tightly packed machinery (Working Conditions in the Industrial Revolution). It was not unusual that death rates went up for the working class, due to all the hazards. Labor unions thought that having hazardous working conditions was unfair, and for what? “Women filling the

Picture a life where every intricate detail of any trade took a large amount of time to do but it had to be done for the survival of the human kind. Now picture it’s the turn of the 20th century, everyone and everything in the united states was revolutionizing. Many inventions are being born and many machines are making these intricate jobs more effortless. Life before was merely a memory. Many living in the united states and others that were living in other countries were ready to seek for better opportunities and finally become part of the working, middle class. Little did they know, those big businesses were going to take over their lives. The upper-class citizens who owned these businesses did not have any interest for the workers; they

The Gilded Age was to describe America in the late nineteenth century. The outside of the US seemed glamorous and splendid alongside industrial development and massive economic growth. However, the dark sides were hidden beneath it.

On a warm day in New York City in 1911, tragedy struck. It was an incident that would be written up in newspapers across the country; a horrendous incident that would change legislature, labor laws and hundreds of lives forever. This dreadful event left nearly 150 girls and women dead, and became one of the most murderous fires in the history of New York City. The day was March 26, 1911, and the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was an historic one. At this time in 1911 the treatment of factory workers was not strictly regulated. Factory and labor laws were not stringently enforced and lacked proper structure. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was comprised of about 600 women and 100 men, many of whom were immigrants who spoke little English. The actions that led to the fire, what transpired during the incident and the events after, are significant in the history of New York City and our nation, especially considering

To begin with, protesting with violent actions isn’t morally right. For example, the victim Fidel Lopez comments, “One of these guys picked up a big piece of metal and threw it at my face. After