Organized Labor Dbq

Cassidy Bulger

In the final years of the 19th Century, the rise of a more business-focused society lead to both advantages and abuse to be cast upon varying members of society. Protests against the abuse, especially in the workplace, lead to a desire for change. Between 1875 and 1900, groups of laborers banded together in Unions and put forth their efforts into trying to improve their position within society. These Labor Unions were persistent, but propaganda easily shaped the public’s opinion, and management often retaliated against their efforts. With this being said, organized labor was rather unsuccessful in significantly improving the positions of workers. During this time period, there farms were being overrun by mechanization,

In the image, it shows what happens when too many groups are fighting to represent laborers, and the result is a lack of unity which only hurts the labor movement. Though Anarchists and Socialists represent only a small population, they were viewed as radicals and, in turn, harmful to society. Another group that is portrayed in this image is the Knights of Labor. The Knights of Labor were in a bad place at this time due to the Haymarket Incident which occurred less than a year before this cartoon was released. The last “cook in the kitchen” was the labor union; and it was this group in which magazines and newspapers such as those mentioned previously often tended to be hostile toward. All of these forms of propaganda depicted organized labor negatively, and because of this exposure, the public’s opinion might have been shaped to view organized labor negatively as

In 1883, a machinist testified before the Senate Committee on Labor and Capital (Document D), and stated that a “great deal of difference” had taken place due to the instatement of Organized Labor forces. When asked to state the differences he had seen take place, he admitted that skilled jobs had been broken down, and because of technology and machinery, there was a lower demand for workers in general, skilled or unskilled. He also stated that “100 men are able to do now what it took 300 or 400 men to do fifteen years ago”. This shows the lack of success that organized labor had in helping American workers gain and maintain