The Labor Movement In The 1800's

Erika Smith
Webber per. 1
11/1/15
The Labor Movement Despite the fact that grueling conditions of labor has declined in comparison to the 1800’s the labor movement made a huge impact on the perilous amounts of labor because it contributed to the fixing of harsh work conditions, low pay, and the very long work shifts. From the 1700’s to the 1800’s workers had to endure unjust working conditions such as low pay, unsafe working environments and long hours this caused the labor movement. Many people were unemployed and even more people took any job they could find because they needed to pay for their loved ones. Many people like railroad workers were being very unfairly paid. To highlight the fact that railroad workers were unfairly treated they only got paid 35% and when the railroad company announced that they would be cutting pay by another 10% this angered railroad workers even more so they went on strike. Many people depended on the railroad workers to get to their jobs because railroad workers had to fix and make railroads so this upset others. Not only were railroad workers unfairly paid so were coal miners, they demanded more pay and better working environment

The families were first altered because of the pay the man of the house was receiving. The low pay made it very hard to be able to afford a house and put food on the table. Mothers and children had to go to work just to pay for simple necessities. Most female workers performed unskilled or semi-skilled machine work but some worked in industries that demanded heavy labor. Some women, for instance, worked on railroads, while others were employed as machinists. The children were employed in factories, demanding long hours of work. This made their living and food conditions very