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| | == Unions and Immigrant Workers == | | == Unions and Immigrant Workers == |
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| − | Eugene V. Debs "headed Am. Railway Union, jailed for leading strike against Pullman railroad cars in 1894 over wages"
| + | As the American economy grew, and businesses became more profitable, workers began to band together and "unionize" (create "unions"). A union is a group of workers at a factory or business who join together in order to negotiate better wages and working conditions. They acquire power in joining together, and they threaten to strike if the owner does not give in to their demands. In the early 1800s there were no unions and no strikes, but by the late 1800s workers began to see that they could increase their wages and improve their conditions by forming unions and threatening to strike. Today, Wal-Mart does everything it can to keep its workers from unionizing, and union organizations despise it for that reason. |
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| | + | Factory owners began hiring Chinese workers at lower wages, and unions objected to that. Factory owners would also import Chinese workers to "break a strike," and keep the factory operating despite the refusal of the regular employees to work. So quickly the unions became opposed to immigration from China. |
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| | + | From 1877 to 1880, the Workingmen's Party existed with support by ordinary workers. It was socialistic and opposed to immigration from China. Its leader was Dennis Kearney, who was actually imprisoned for provocative speeches. (Today the broad interpretation of the First Amendment prohibit such imprisonments.) |
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| | + | In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was enacted as a culmination of growing opposition to Chinese immigrants, who were thought to lower wages for workers. This Act banned the Chinese from immigrating to the United States, and was not repealed until 1943 when America needed the Chinese in the war against Japan. |
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| | + | Some cities passed laws to frustrate efforts by Chinese to operate businesses in competition with Americans. San Francisco, for example, passed a law requiring laundries to be only in stone or brick buildings, which made it more difficult for the Chinese to open laundry businesses. But the Chinese challenged that law and took it to the U.S. Supreme Court, which invalidated the law and gave the victory to the Chinese in Yick Wo v. Hopkins 1886). |
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| | + | In 1886, Samuel Gompers formed the American Federation of Labor (AFL) in order to demand limiting the workday to 8 hours and stop employers who required longer hours per day. Initially this was a non-political organization, not aligned with either political party. By 1901 it had 1 million members. The Knights of Labor, another labor group in the 1880s, had 700,000 members at that time. So these labor groups were quite large. |
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| | + | In 1886, workers at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. in Chicago began a strike in the hopes of shortening the workday to 8 hours. The company tried to break the strike by using new workers, and police were called in to protect the new workers. A fight broke out and one person was killed. |
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| − | In re Debs "1895: Sup. Ct. upheld judicial power to prohibit strikes
| + | Anarchists were extremists who sided with the unions, and the anarchists planned a large rally the next day to protest the alleged police brutality. They expected 20,000 to show up at Haymarket Square in Chicago, but actually on 1500 to 2000 were there, with the police there also. At one point a protester through a pipe bomb at the policemen, and its explosion killed seven policement and injured more than 60 others. The police then fired into the crowd, and killed four. |
| − | against railroads, jail those who disobey (like Debs)"
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| − | Workingmen's Party "1877-80: socialist, workers, anti-Chinese party led by Dennis Kearney, imprisoned for provocative speeches"
| + | Eight anarchists were tried for conspiracy to commit murder; seven were convicted, and four were hanged in November 1887. This was a huge embarrassment for the union movement, which did include many socialists and anarchists. It caused a delay in acceptance of the eight hour workday, and the movement of workers from the Knights of Labor to the more moderate American Federation of Labor.<ref>http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h750.html</ref> |
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| − | American Federat. of Labor (AFL) "1886: founded by Samuel Gompers, demanded 8-hour workday, was non-political, had 1M by 1901"
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| − | Haymarket Square riot 1886: embarrassed union movement because their demands for 8-hour-day led to riots killing policemen
| + | Eugene V. Debs "headed Am. Railway Union, jailed for leading strike against Pullman railroad cars in 1894 over wages" |
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| − | Yick Wo v. Hopkins "1886: Chinese immigrants win, invalidate San Fran. law limiting laundries to be only in stone or brick bldgs"
| + | In re Debs "1895: Sup. Ct. upheld judicial power to prohibit strikes |
| | + | against railroads, jail those who disobey (like Debs)" |
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| | Homestead Strike "1892: near Pittsburgh, guards hired by Carnegie's company suppress strike and end riots, 10 killed" | | Homestead Strike "1892: near Pittsburgh, guards hired by Carnegie's company suppress strike and end riots, 10 killed" |
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| − | Chinese Exclusion Act "1882: culmination of 30 years of growing racism against Chinese immigrants, thought to lower wages banned Chinese from immigrating, but was later repealed in 1943 when Chinese needed to fight Japan
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| | == Indians and the Frontier == | | == Indians and the Frontier == |