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Lowell Mills
The Lowell Mills were textile mills where girls were sent to work. They lived in company houses and were given strict rules, but for many this was their first opportunity to have some freedom. The mills peaked in the 1840s. -
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Terence Powderly
He was the leader of the Knights of Labor and influential labor union leader. He was part of the Greenback Labor Party and was a politician and served as Commissioner General of Immigration and Chief Information Officer for the Bureau of Immigration. -
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Samuel Gompers
He was the leader of the American Federation of Labor and a cigar maker. He formed multiple unions including the AFL and the Cigar Makers Union. He was an influential leader within the union scene. -
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Eugene V. Debs
He was an Union leader and Socialist leader. He was a founding member of the Industrial Workers of the World and the American Railway Union. He also ran for president 5 times. -
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Florence Kelley
Kelley was a reformer that worked against sweatshops and child labor. She advocated for 8 hour work days, minimum wage and children's rights. Through her work she was able to bring about new child labor laws and regulations that helped keep children under 14 from working and reduced hours for those under 16. -
National Labor Union
It was the first national labor union in the United States. It included skilled and unskilled laborers and was created to gain better conditions in the work environment. -
Knights of Labor
The first mass labor union in the U.S. which peaked in strength in the mid 1880s. It started as a secret society in Philadelphia and they believed everyday people needed to control the places they worked. The Knights of Labor attempted to make a “universal brotherhood” of workers. They tried to bridge the boundaries between race and gender. -
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Greenback Labor Party
A political party that advocated for more paper money to be printed, believing that a flexible supply of money would help the working class and that gold backed money helped only the rich. They were mainly were backed by farmers. -
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Great Railroad Strike
National strike of railroad workers and labor allies that protested the growing power of the railroad industry and the wage cuts that happened during an economic depression. -
Haymarket Square
During a protest at Haymarket Square in Chicago, a bomb was thrown into the crowd where it injured and killed several police officers. This caused police officers to fire into the crowd. In the trial eight anarchists were found guilty of murder and although they were not connected to the Knights of Labor, the Knights were blamed for the incident. This caused the Knights of Labor to lose popularity and the favor of the public. -
American Federation of Labor
A large union that organized unions by crafts. It was founded by Samuel Gompers, a cigar maker, because he believed the Knights of Labor were too reliant on electoral politics and did not share their issues with capitalism. The AFL was interested in winning a larger share of the rewards that corporate got. The AFL wanted better wages, better hours, and better working conditions. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
This act outlawed monopolies in the U.S. It was one of the government’s first attempts to regulate business and curb the corruption of major corporations. It required the government to investigate trust and other companies operating in violation of the act. -
Homestead Strike
A protest at a steel mill in Homestead, Pennsylvania. Workers were protesting the lowering of their wages and striking outside of the mill. Pinkerton guards were brought in to protect the strikebreakers. There was conflict between the strikers, the strike breakers and the guards. Eventually the state militia was sent in to break the strike and Homestead became a non union mill and the wages remained the same. -
American Railway Union
An early industrial union that grew to be one of the largest labor unions of its time. It was created for railway workers to improve working conditions and held many successful strikes. Eugene V. Debs was a prominent leader in this union. -
Pullman Palace Strike
A national railway strike that strived to put an end to the lowering of wages and rising rent prices. During this strike the American Railway Union was formed and Pullman refused to recognize the union. Eventually the National Guard was called in and the strike was stopped and the government took Pullman’s side. -
Anthracite Coal Strike
Miners went on strike to gain more recognition and some control over the industry. They wanted shorter work days and overall better conditions. The owners refused to negotiate until the government got involved. Theodore Roosevelt threatened to send in the U.S. army to take over the coal fields, with the reasoning that the strike was affecting the public's safety and health. This got the owners to negotiate with the union and was the first time the government took the side of labor. -
Women’s Trade Union League
Labor union founded in New York for women. This union brought elite, working-class, and middle-class women together. They organized the garment workers. -
Lochner v New York
A Supreme Court case that said New York State could not limit bakers’ work days to 10 hours because it violated their right to make contracts. -
Industrial Workers of the World
A large union whose members were known as the “wobblies”. It was a union and a political group that was dedicated to organizing unskilled workers to oppose capitalism. They promoted direct action, including strikes and sabotage. -
Muller v Oregon
A supreme court ruling that upheld an Oregon law that limited the women’s workday to 10 hours. This contradicted Lochner v New York. This case divided women’s rights activists on the issue. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
A fire that brought attention to dangerous factory conditions and killed 145 workers. It led to the development of a series of laws and regulations that better protected the safety of workers. -
Clayton Antitrust Act
A law that strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act and gave a clearer definition of “monopolies” and gave more power to the Justice department to prosecute antitrust cases. It also said that unions could not be prosecuted for restraint of trade. This ensured that the law would not be applied to unions. -
Boston Police Strike
Boston police officers were striking to gain better wages and working conditions. As a result, Boston had several nights of lawlessness until the National Guard was called in to restore order. All the strikers were fired and ultimately the strike damaged the public view of labor unions. -
Wagner Act
This law upheld the right of industrial workers to join and form unions and established the National Labor Relations Board, which protected workers from employee coercion and guaranteed collective bargaining. -
Congress of Industrial Organizations
Led by John Lewis, they originally began as a group of unskilled laborers who organized themselves into unions. They were known for the "sit down strike" and thrived under the New Deal. -
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John Lewis
He was the founder of the Committee for Industrial Organizations and a miner. He was the president the United Mine Workers of the U.S. -
Taft Hartley Act
A law that overhauled the 1935 Labor Relations Board and placed restrictions on the way laborers could organize. This made it much harder for unions to organize workers. -
United Farm Workers
Founded by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta to empower farmers, specifically Mexican Americans migrants. It was a union of farmworkers to improve working conditions and treatment of the workers. It specifically targeted the discriminatory treatment of Mexican American laborers. -
Equal Pay Act
Law that established equal pay for equal work. Union women were especially important in getting the law passed. This was intended to close the wage gap between men and women.