Progressive Movement Part II

Progressive Movement Part II

US HistoryObjectives : **Describe industrial working conditions in the USA in the late 1800s **List the barriers to labor union growth

SOL – VUS.8

Timeline – 1870s-1920s

Oops, I forgot to include this last class

Company TownTown rules set by the Company not Gov’tCompany money, houses, storesNever paid as much as they owed for houses –

cycle of debt

Impact of Labor UnionsThe poor working conditions and low wages

gave rise to the organization of unionsAccomplishments

Limited Work HoursRegulated working conditions

Knights of Labor(est. 1868)

1st major national unionUnion tool – The strikeInspired others:

American Federation of Labor (AFL)(est. 1886)

Samuel GompersBecame biggest USA union

Other Early UnionsAmerican Railway Union

Eugene V. Debs – FounderInternational Ladies Garment Workers’ Union

Labor - The StrikeThe tool used by workers/unions to protest

poor conditions and payRefusal to workProtest/picket

Business - ScabsPeople hired by business to break labor and

strikes

Haymarket Square Strike and RiotChicago, Illinois(May 4, 1886)

Labor union protestPipe bomb by crazy anarchist gets thrown at

policeRiot ensues

Public Opinion on LaborSplits opinion by USA **anger at violence at strikes **labor gets associated w/ anarchism

Other Strikes you need to knowHomestead Strike – Broke up by U.S.

Marshals and troopsPullman Strike – Results in Labor Day

Government ActionSherman Anti-Trust Act

Prevents any business structure that “restrains trade” (monopolies)

Clayton Anti-Trust Act – Woodrow WilsonExpands Sherman Anti-Trust Act; outlaws

price-fixing; exempts unions from Sherman Act

President Teddy Roosevelt(1901-1909)Square Deallook out for the “common man”

4 ideals of the Square Deal**Conservation**Regulating Business**Enforcing Anti-Trust Laws**Supporting Progressive Ideas

Sherman Anti-Trust Act(est. 1890)Law that banned monopoliesTR uses law to break up 44 different trusts

ConservationSet aside USA land for parks and forest

reservesFederal Parks saved

by TR:**Grand Canyon**Petrified Forest**Crater Lake**Natural Bridge

Woodrow Wilson’s New FreedomReduced Tariff’s - Underwood Tariff ActReform the Banking System – Federal

ReserveTrusts – Federal Trade CommissionWorker’s RightsLast Prez from VA