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Black Codes enacted in the South
Post Civil War South required a labor force to continue the agricultural production of the Antebellum Era. Because Freedmen were required to be paid, planters attempted to mitigate the economic loss by enacting Black Codes, that forced the newly freedmen to work for low wages and removed competition in wage pricings. These Black Codes were the South's way of negating the impact of the Civil War. This led to the extension of both the Freedmen's Bureau and the creation of the Civil Rights Act. -
Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands ( Freedmen's Bureau) created.
The Freedmen's Bureau, created in order to help former slaves and others impacted by the end of the Civil War with the transition into the reformation period, helped feed, educate, and reunite disadvantaged southern populations, including both freedmen and poor whites. In this time line, it is important as it allowed for an agency to aid freedmen in creating workers contracts, which led to the replacement of free labor to that of wage labor. -
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American Laborers move to the Industrial Age
In the centuries preceding 1880, over half of Americans were employed as farmers. However, with the expansion of factories spurred by many inventions of this time period, a large number of Americans moved from farming into industry work. According to the textbook, the number of industry workers soared from 2.5million to 10 million in 40 years. This drasticallly shifted the lifestyle of the average worker, and led later to labor rights movements. -
The American Federation of Labor Created
The American Federation of Labor was a collection of 20 different craft unions that focused on representing craft workers in federal legislation and receiving better working conditions for its members. It was led by Samuel Gompers, who refused to involve it with political issues or individual union issues. Although it had 4 million workers by 1920, it only represented at maximum 15% of non-farming workers, and left out many factory workers, failing to support the majority of American workers. -
Pullman Strike in Pullman, Illinois.
The Pullman Strike, along with the Homestead Steel Strike of 1892, fueled anti-union and anti-protest sentiment. George Pullman, factory owner as well as the landlord for many of his employees, fired half of his factory workers and cut wages for the rest, then continued charging steep rent. This led to a railroad strike, that the US government interfered with by adding mail trucks to railcars to ensure their delivery. The strike ended with new workers being hired, ruining the strike tactic. -
Child Labor in the Canning Industry of Maryland Report
Lewis W. Hine documented the working conditions of many children laborers. In his report, Child Labor in the Canning Industry of Maryland, he details the dangerous conditions many children were forced to work in, noting no limit on how young the child was, and the amount of dangerous, unguarded machinery. He notes how many of these children were forced into work to provide a living wage for their families. This, along with other documents, spurred the need for child labor law reform. -
Citation for Child Labor in the Canning Industry of Maryland Report.
Hine, Lewis. Child Labor in the Canning Industry of Maryland. Report. 1909. -
Keating Owen Act of 1916
This law passed in 1916, although later overturned by the Supreme Court, prohibiting interstate trade of products made with child labor. This is important to the timeline as it demonstrates a shift in societal views as the first child labor law- although the Supreme Court decided it was unconstitutional, this still furthered the cause of child laborers and inspired the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. ( Keating-Owens Child Labor Act of 1916 (1916). ) -
Woman's Land Army of America
After the beginning of WWI, America faced another labor vacuum: there were not enough men to run industry and agriculture. The Woman's Land Army of America demonstrates another labor shift America experienced: Women filled the void left behind by the men, and filled many agricultural roles during WWI.
The Woman's Land Army of America encouraged their participation as a Farmerette through pamplets. Although many women returned to domesticity after the war, it empowered women in the labor force. -
Citation for Women's Land Army of America Pamplet
The Women's Land Army in 1918. New York, NY: Woman's Land Army of America, 1918.
