An Observation of The Beneficial Failure of Pre-war American Organized Labor

The greed of corporate America had resulted in the ill treatment of its industrialized workforce; consequently, this greed created a public outcry that resulted in the majority of industrialized workers to attempt to unionize. In the 1860’s, William H. Sylvis attempted to form the National Labor Union; however, this union was quickly disbanded following the Panic of 1873. This was followed by the Railroad Strike of 1877, and the birth of national unions such as the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor. The American Federation of Labor, also known as the AFL, promptly demanded an 8 hour work day for American laborers by May 1st, which resulted in a massacre at a protest meeting in Haymarket Square. Aided by union support, many American workers could not effectively negotiate with industrial superpowers such as U.S. Steel, because the majority of unskilled workers represented by the union were easily replaceable, as well as migratory.

Federal support of unions was nonexistent; in fact, many industrial superpowers received federal support because their economic power ensured that the United States would not face economic uncertainty as a whole. Military force from the federal government was routinely used to quell violent public outcry against the industrial machine that had oppressed them, and many striking workers were killed by military troops while attempting to oppose their economic counterparts. Tensions began to materialize in Congress regarding the treatment of workers and the threat of big business verses free enterprise of the individual citizen; consequently, this resulted in various politicians, known as trustbusters, fighting to limit the influence of industrial giants, such as Rockefeller and Carnegie.

By 1900, the United States swelled into an economic superpower, as a direct result of cheap labor from both immigrants and poor Americans alike. Massive cities emerged quickly, resulting in an unprecedented need for public services. Nearly 100 years later, noted businessman Clive Smith, offered incredible insight regarding urban life and development:

When you’re looking at sustainable development there’s no ‘one size fits all’ solution. It depends how rural, how urban, how traditional, how literate, there are so many factors that come into it. Sustainable development is an ecosystem problem. (Clive Smith, 2005)

Increasingly dense population, combined with an ever growing absence of adequate public services, resulted in urban dangers such as fire, crime, and disease; however, urban American life in the early 1900 presented Americans with many benefits as well. Massive public spaces began to emerge in larger cities, and the standard of living began to rise, establishing a stable, middle class position for average Americans to enjoy.

From the rubble of the Reconstruction, America had grown into an economic superpower within a span of merely 35 years. It is my belief that this rise is a direct result of the failure of pre-war labor unions, allowing major capitalists to thrive on the backs of underpaid labor from immigrants and poor whites alike. Its origins resulted from a trend that developed from the sharecropping system, after the 13 Amendment was passed; moreover, this cycle was implemented mostly by a prostrate southern society, attempting to preserve a southern agricultural standard of cheap labor, which was outmoded after the beginning of the Reconstruction Era.