People, Places, and Power (The Powerful Few vs. The Many Powerless 4)

                For the past few days we have listened to other groups present on their topics that relate to the theme “People, Places, and Power”.  They have shared key terms, enduring understandings, and facts during a PowerPoint presentation.  They have also each shared one or two video journals composed of primary source images narrated and explained by them.  At the end of each group’s project everyone took a survey that the group created using SurveyMonkey.  After the survey, the group went over the results of the survey.  They shared what answers people chose, what were the correct answers, and our thoughts for the opinion questions.  After each presentation, we learned how their theme related to the overarching theme of “People, Places, and Power”.

             American Imperialism in the late 19^th to early 20^th century was a time when America asserted its power to annex Hawaii as well as invade Cuba for land, for naval bases, to revive patriotism, and to protect American citizens.  During this time, people who were pro-war and jingoists, that is people with aggressive national pride, needed a reason to get a war started so they used the power of yellow journalism and other propaganda to claim Spain had attacked America.  This gave America an excuse to invade and defeat parts of the Spanish empire including Cuba, allowing the United States to show that it was more powerful.

             European Imperialism in Africa during the late 19^th to early 20^th century was a time when Europe asserted its power over Africa and the African people.  According to social Darwinism, Europeans believed they were superior to Africans because of evolution which gave them an excuse to assert power over the Africans and control them.  King Leopold II of Belgium was a powerful European King who asserted power over the people living in the Congo, by keeping the Congo under his control and exploiting and killing millions of Congo people who had no power against the king and his soldiers.

             Native Americans were forced by the powerful American government and the military to go on “The Long Walk” and walk 300 miles to move from their homelands in the Great Plains to different places (reservations and camps) because Eastern settlers wanted to claim the land in the west.  The Navajo Native Americans who were forced to move to Borsque Redondo also experienced forced assimilation.  They were forced by white Americans (often military people who oversaw and forced the movement of Natives) who asserted power over the natives, to change their culture to “white culture”.      

             In the 19^th century many immigrants came from Asia including Japan and China to California.  Americans used their power to oppress the immigrants and limit their opportunities.  White laborers felt threatened since the Chinese would take their jobs by accepting lower wages, so they used their power to get the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 created which prohibited further immigration from China.  The government had power over the Asian immigrants because if they decided there was anything wrong with the immigrants they had the power to send Asian immigrants back to their homelands.

             Many immigrants came from Europe to Ellis Island in New York in America often to escape religious persecution in their home countries.  They had to go through medical exams, written tests, and other exams, and the immigrants could be sent home or quarantined if they were found to not be healthy.  Other white Americans besides workers at Ellis Island also had power over the immigrants.  White Americans also had economical power over the immigrants and many of the immigrants were forced to work in sweatshops because they did not speak English even though many were well educated and had been doctors, engineers, etc in their home countries.  Immigrants lived in ghettos which were segregated communities in order to protect themselves from persecution.  

An Immigrant Receiving an Eye Exam to Check for an Eye Disease

Image: THE STATUE OF LIBERTY-ELLIS ISLAND FOUNDATION, INC./NATIONAL PARK.  http://teacher.scholastic.com/ACTIVITIES/immigration/tour/stop4.htm

The Powerful Few vs. The Many Powerless 3

                Working with my group, I deepened my understanding of labor vs. big business in the 19th century.  Even though we had some similar enduring understandings, I found that they also had some different views on the topic.  One person had an enduring understanding that made a connection between the corporations and the government.  It was about how the wealthy men in charge of these large corporations, and politicians often had aligned political interests.  He explained that they not only had aligned political interests but that the government would often align themselves with these wealthy men because they were scared of them and the power they had in society.  For example, even though the Sherman Anti-Trust act was supposed to stop corporations from forming trusts and gaining more power, the government actually ended up aiding the corporations with this act.  Instead of stopping corporations, it was used to help corporations stop labor unions.  This enduring understanding also helped me understand the document Robber Barons and Rebels better.  In this document, it explained that “the government of the United States was behaving almost exactly as Karl Marx described as a capitalist state: pretending to neutrality to maintain order, but serving the interests of the rich” (Robber Barons and Rebels 258).  The government aligned with the wealthy men.  I also learned who robber barons and captains of industry were.  I knew Robber Barons and Rebels was the title of one of our documents, but I did not know exactly what the term “robber baron” meant.  I learned from my group that robber barons were powerful industrialists who were seen as building their fortune by stealing from the public.  Captains of industry were powerful industrialists who were seen as having a positive effect on the nation.  These two terms describe the same people but show the different views people had about them.  Some people thought they were rich and greedy and others saw them as innovative people helping the economy and the nation.   Another enduring understanding that was very different from mine was about the selfishness of the wealthy men in society.  One person pointed out, that not only were the owners of corporations rich, but they did not care about the laborers who worked for them.  Owners were constantly cutting wages.  In Homestead, when Andrew Clay Frick tried to cut wages to increase the corporation's wealth, the workers became angry and went on strike.  I realized after working with my group, that even though laborers would strike and sometimes become violent, the wealthy men in charge of the corporations that employed these men would never agree to do what the laborers wanted to make the striking and violence stop.  The owners and wealthy business men always responded with violence.  The wealthy men in charge would rather have violence than "give in"; that is give the strikers power.  This idea helped me further understand the various documents and pictures about the Homestead Strike.   During the Homestead Strike, “A foreign armed force was to settle the question of one dollar in wages” and violence ensued over a wage cut of a single dollar ("The Incident" of the 6th of July. From the July 16, 1892 issue of Illustrated American.).  The wealthy men in charge refused to "give in" and insisted on this wage cut.  They preferred to call in the Pinkertons and state militia to keep their control rather than give up power to the strikers as seen in the two images below.  One picture is of the strikers attacking the Pinkertons and one is of the state militia. 

The Strikers Killing a Pinkerton

(G.A. Davis, from a sketch by C. Upham. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly. “The Labor Troubles at Homestead, Pennsylvania — Attack of the Strikers and their Sympathizers on the Surrendered Pinkerton Men”. July 14.)

The State Militia

(J.F. Jarvis, Under martial law—State Militia entering Homestead, Pa., U.S.A., July 11, 1892.)

Both these forces helped protect the power the wealthy men possessed.  Working with my group my understanding of these ideas deepened.

         To create our photo essay we first combined all our lists of key terms and then chose the terms we wanted to keep.  If there were multiple definitions of the same term we picked the one we felt was the best.  For our enduring understandings we read them all and tried to pick the best ones that covered many different aspects of the topic.  This part of the process in general went quickly and worked very well.  There were only a few small disagreements on whether or not to include a couple of key terms.  For our intro slides we quickly agreed on the topic for each slide, but had some disagreements about which key terms belonged on each side.  Once we had decided which key terms went on each slide we came to agreement quickly as to which enduring understanding went with each slide.  If we were to do this project again I would insist we not waste time fooling around with the fonts.  It was a little frustrating when people were changing the titles from "Business" to "8u$lne$$".  Everyone always had something to do.  Someone was in charge of the SurveyMonkey, someone else was in charge of the bibliography, and others of us were working on captions for the Videolicious.  This went fairly well.  One problem was trying to compile all the images in multiple locations.  I needed them on my iPad but they were in a Google Doc and there was no way to save the images directly to my iPad from the document.  If we were to do this again, I would try and figure out a better way to compile images.  The making of the video was also a challenge.  I had to shorten our captions and talk very quickly to get everything in under a minute.  After I had created this video it was decided we could make two videos which was very helpful.  The video making process went well after we were allowed to make two videos.  We made one general overview video and one about a particular strike at Homestead.  I feel personally I took on a leadership role making sure everyone had a task and that everything that needed to get done got done.  I also helped coordinate who will be in charge of presenting which slide.  Even though there were initially problems with the video, overall I think the photo essay project went well.        

The Powerful Few vs. The Many Powerless 2

In the 19th century during the rise of corporate America, it was truly a battle between labor and big business.  People, places, and power all contributed to this fight.  Last time, many different people involved in big business were discussed as well as the workers who worked for these powerful men and many of the inventions that gave rise to this era.  After engaging with an online interactive activity, knowledge of a particular fight between laborers and big business was learned. Primary sources about The Homestead strike were examined and grouped into three different categories based on the documents perspectives.  The three main perspectives were strikers who worked in Homestead, Pennsylvania, the media including journals and various article, and the Carnegie Steel company who employed those working in Homestead.  Through this investigation, the understanding of corporate America in the 19th century was strengthened.

A link to the online interactive activity: http://ftp.learner.org/courses/amerhistory/interactives/sources/E5/e1/event.php#

Samuel Morse- Invented the telegraph which was a machine that provided a way to send messages.

Edwin L. Drake - First to successfully drill for oil leading to it becoming a major industry.

Thomas A. Edison-An inventor who invented many things including the electric light bulb.  He had a power plant built so many people could use the new electrical lighting and not need their own generator.  Electric power from power plants was used to also power fans, printing presses and other new appliances.

Alexander Graham Bell- An inventor who invents the telephone in Boston, MA.  Bell and partners create the American Telephone and Telegraph Company which becomes a monopoly.

Transcontinental Railroad- A railway extending from coast to coast.

Bessemer Process- A new process for making steel independently developed by Henry Bessemer and William Kelly.

Andrew Carnegie -A businessman and investor from Pittsburgh who had a "rags to riches" story.  He became rich with his investments and his steel company, Carnegie Steel Company.  He started and owned the steel rolling mills at Homestead where he employed thousands of men.  He learned that to make money you need money.  He was also a major public figure.  He believed people should make money but give most away.  He wrote a now famous book titled The Gospel of Wealth.  He also put a lot of money towards education.

John D. Rockefeller- A powerful and wealthy businessman in the US who earned his fortune after starting the Standard Oil Company in 1870.

Oligopoly- A market structure where a few large profitable firms dominate.

Monopoly-Complete control of a product or service which gives protection to the company.

Vertical consolidation- Gaining control of the many different businesses that make up all phases of a product's development.

Economies of Scale- As production increases the cost of each product is lowered.

Horizontal consolidation- The bringing together of many firms in the same business.

Trust- A single unit that manages and controls a company/companies.

Sherman Antitrust Act- An act that outlawed any combination of companies that restrained interstate trade or commerce.

Division of Labor-A method where each worker is assigned a different, small task to perform for the production of a product.  

The Knights of Labor Union - A union that accepted many different people and pursued broad social reforms.  In 1882 they sponsored the first Labor Day.

Craft Union- A union where not all workers are organized; rather only skilled workers in a network of smaller unions, each devoted to a specific craft are organized.

Collective Bargaining- A process in which workers negotiate as a group with employers.

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877- A series of strikes that resulted after large wage cuts angered workers.  These workers decided to run strikes to prevent running trains.  They also attacked railroad property and the federal government was requested to step in to help stop the strikes.  Federal troops were sent in multiple times to stop the violence.  It started in Martinsburg West Virginia and continued in Pittsburgh, Chicago, St. Louis and other cities.  These strikes symbolize the start of a new and violent era.

Eugene V. Debs -A man that took a leadership role in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen.  He spoke out against 1877 strike and did not believe strikes should be violent.

Industrial Union- A union that organized all workers from all crafts in a given industry.

The American Railway Union- A union that united all railroad workers.

Haymarket 1866-A national demonstration on May 1st for eight hour workday in Chicago Haymarket Square that caused other strikes to break out in other cities.  On May 3rd, fighting between strikers and scabs in Chicago's McCormick reaper factory occurred.  On May 4th a rally started by Union leaders occurred in Chicago Haymarket Square which quickly became violent with a bomb being thrown and multiple casualties.

Scab- A negative term for a worker called in by an employer to replace striking laborers.

George Pullman-An inventor who invented a luxury sleeping car.  He made a town just for workers.  He cut wages causing people to become angry and strike.  He responded by killing some of the strikers.

J.P. Morgan-A son of a banker who sold stocks for railroads as well as defective rifles.  He started the J.P. Morgan & Company, acquiring a fortune.  He brought rationality and organization to the national economy.  He acquired many businesses including the Carnegie Steel Company which he turned into the U.S. Steel Corporation.  

Henry Clay Frick - A man who worked for Carnegie and planned to cut wages causing the union to go on strike.  He (Frick) hired Pinkertons to shoot at the striking workers and stop the strike.

Anarchism- A political philosophy where people do not believe in having government or authority with people in charge.  Many of the workers in America were anarchists and opposed being ruled by wealthy men and the government who supported these wealthy men.

Pinkertons- An organization of armed detectives who were often hired by wealthy business owners to stop strikes.  They fought with and shot many strikers.

Homestead Strike- A strike of workers of the Carnegie Steel Company in Homestead for wages being lowered by a dollar.  The strike became violent when Pinkertons were hired to stop the strike.  Strikers and Pinkertons fought and shot one another with the strikers ultimately defeating the Pinkertons.

Amalgamated Association (AA)- A union for iron and steel workers.  It was one of the largest labor unions in America.  They formed to assert their (labor) rights.

Enduring Understanding: The creation of new ideas by people allow a small amount of people to obtain a large amount of power.

• Drilling for oil was a new idea discovered by Edwin L. Drake (America: Pathways to the Present).  John D. Rockefeller took advantage of this new idea and bought an oil refinery starting the Standard Oil Company which made him become a wealthy and powerful man with a fortune of two billion dollars (A People's History of the United States: Robber Barrons and Rebels 256-257)
• Andrew Carnegie saw the new method for producing steel known as the Bessemer method and built a steel plant which he in turn sold to J.P. Morgan for 492 millions dollars.  Carnegie became another wealthy and powerful business man (A People's History of the United States: Robber Barrons and Rebels 257)
• “The high tariff on imported steel had greatly boomed the American steel industry.” (Emma Goldman, Living My Life (New York: Alfred Knopf, Inc., 1931) 83–88).  As mentioned before steel was being made using a new method known as the Bessemer method.  Steel now had a high tariff meaning that steel was very profitable and allowed people like Andrew Carnegie, who owned the Carnegie Steel Company to obtain large amounts of wealth and power.

Enduring Understanding: Large groups of people, sometimes coming from different places, work in similar places for a few people who in turn gain immense power.

• Italian, Russian, Jewish, Greek, Chinese and other immigrants who came to the United States all worked for powerful men.  These men often mass-contracted the immigrants to various businesses.  For example, some immigrants worked together in sulfate mines in poor conditions in the South which created wealth and power for the owners of the mines (A People's History of the United States: Robber Barrons and Rebels 265-266).
• 75% of the nation's wealth was held by the richest 9% of Americans, meaning most of the money was going toward a few powerful men in a consolidating effect.  The annual salary of the average worker was only a few hundred dollars while the owners of businesses that many of these workers worked for sometimes accumulated millions or hundreds of millions of dollars from these workers' efforts (America: Pathways to the Present).
• “At 12 o'clock last night every department of the immense Carnegie steel works at Homestead was shut down, throwing about 3,800 men out of employment” (The Pittsburgh Post, 30 June 1892).  Thousands of men worked together in the same place, the Carnegie steel works at Homestead.  All of these men working for a few wealthy men including Andrew Carnegie allowed them to obtain immense power.  Carnegie gained enough power as one individual to be able to put thousands of people out of work when their yearly contracts ended.
• “A certain man, who has risen from the ranks of labor by thrift, cleverness, and lucky transactions, has amassed riches. His name is Andrew Carnegie; his fortune is written in the millions. Much of this fortune is invested in steel rolling mills at Homestead. These works cover one hundred and fifty acres of ground; here work four thousand five hundred men” ("The Incident" of the 6th of July. From the July 16, 1892 issue of Illustrated American.).  Carnegie as an individual gained immense wealth and power and started the steel mills at Homestead.  Carnegie’s wealth led to him gaining power.  He keeps his power through the work of thousands of workers.  A large group of workers work at the Homestead leading to one individual, Andrew Carnegie, gaining immense wealth and power.

Enduring Understanding: People with power will try to oppress those working in the same places that do not have power, especially when these people try to change the distribution of power.

• George Pullman cut wages for his workers who all lived in the town he created for them, in order to achieve more wealth and power for himself.  When the workers protested, Pullman fired three protesters causing the union to go on strike.  He did not give in and instead shut down his plant (America: Pathways to the Present).
• The Texas & Pacific Railroad fired someone who was a leader of a union called the Knights of Labor which lead to many workers of the railroad to go on strike.  The company had these strikers arrested for refusing to work (A People's History of the United States: Robber Barrons and Rebels 269).
• “When a grasping corporation had the audacity to say:"You must all renounce your union and forswear your liberty And we will give you a chance to live and die in slavery." ("Song of a Strike": George Swetnam, "Song of a Strike," (1892). Reprinted in Linda Schneider, "The Citizen Striker: Workers' ideology in the Homestead Strike of 1892," Labor History 23 (Winter 1982): 60.)  This is a line from a song strikers at the Homestead sung.  This particular line shows that the corporation which is run by a few powerful men, tried to oppress their workers by trying to make them leave their unions which provided them with some power.  They oppress the workers so badly that they make them feel like slaves.
• “Finding that it was impossible to arrive at any agreement with the Amalgamated Association we decided to close our works at Homestead” (Interview of Frick, Pittsburgh Post, 8 July 1892. Reprinted in House Report 2447, 52nd Congress, 2nd Session: Employment of Pinkerton Detectives (Washington, D.C.: 1892).)  Henry Clay Frick, a powerful man at the Carnegie Steel Company speaks at an interview and explains that the workers in the Amalgamated Association who worked together at the Homestead would not agree to the proposed lower wages.  Instead of keeping the wage the same, he asserts power and oppresses the workers by closing all work at the Homestead.
• “Frick curtly refused the peace advances of the workers' organization, declaring that there was "nothing to arbitrate." Presently the mills were closed. "Not a strike, but a lockout," Frick announced. It was an open declaration of war” (Emma Goldman, Living My Life (New York: Alfred Knopf, Inc., 1931) 83–88.).  Henry Clay Frick who took charge of the Carnegie Steel Company was seen as cruelly oppressing the workers at Homestead.  He refused to compromise with the workers, starting a “war”.

Enduring Understanding: People without power who work in the same place will join together to gain power in numbers so that they can fight the wealthy and powerful people who control them.

• “They want to lower our wages, we think it is not right; So for union's cause I want you all to shout.  We will sing the union's praise while our voices we can raise” ("The Homestead Strike": The Homestead Strike Songster (New York: n.d.). Reprinted in Philip S. Foner, American Labor Songs of the Nineteenth Century (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1975), 243.).  Many workers who work together in the Homestead are angered that the powerful owners of the Carnegie Steel Company want to lower their wages, so many of them join together to strike.  In their song they say that they will all raise their voices together to create change.
• “ Let us unite with heart and hand and spread the news through this broad land, We'll not give in until the company yield, And fight with might and main and travel hand in hand To win this strike or die upon the field” ("The Homestead Strike": The Homestead Strike Songster (New York: n.d.). Reprinted in Philip S. Foner, American Labor Songs of the Nineteenth Century (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1975), 243.).  The strike song continues to say that the workers will join “hand in hand”.  By working together they gain some power and use this small amount of power to try to fight the company and owners for better wages.
• “convinced that Sheriff McCleary is unable to restore order at Homestead, has ordered out the entire National Guard–8,500 men-all the available military force of the state, to Homestead for service” (New York Herald, July 11 1892).  The strikers had very little power as individuals, but when they join together to strike they cause such disorder that the National Guard comprised of thousands of men are needed to be called in to stop the strikers.  The powerful men in charge of the workers cannot stop the strikers on their own.
• “From past experience, not only with the present sheriff but with all others, we have found that he has been unable to furnish us with a sufficient number of deputies to guard our property and protect the men who were anxious to work on our terms” (Interview of Frick, Pittsburgh Post, 8 July 1892. Reprinted in House Report 2447, 52nd Congress, 2nd Session: Employment of Pinkerton Detectives (Washington, D.C.: 1892).). Frick explains that when the strikers on the Homestead work together they gain enough power that just having a sheriff is not enough to stop the strikers from causing trouble for the powerful men and their company.  The strikers have power in numbers causing Frick to look for people to help stop the strikers.  Frick says “we knew of no other source from which to obtain them than from Pinkerton agencies, and to them we applied” (Interview of Frick, Pittsburgh Post, 8 July 1892. Reprinted in House Report 2447, 52nd Congress, 2nd Session: Employment of Pinkerton Detectives (Washington, D.C.: 1892).).  Frick highers Pinkertons to fight and stop the strikers.
• “The spokesman of the Pinkertons announced that they would surrender if assured of protection from the mob”  ("The Incident" of the 6th of July. From the July 16, 1892 issue of Illustrated American.)  The strikers at the Homestead were able to gain enough power by working together in large numbers that the Pinkertons hired by the wealthy and powerful men in charge of the company surrendered.

• 

(G.A. Davis, from a sketch by C. Upham. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly. “The Labor Troubles at Homestead, Pennsylvania — Attack of the Strikers and their Sympathizers on the Surrendered Pinkerton Men”. July 14.)

This picture shows the power of the strikers who formed into a mob and fought the Pinkertons.  This picture shows a Pinkerton, who has been hired by the wealthy and powerful men in charge of the Carnegie Steel Company to stop the strike, being shot and killed by a striker.

• 

(W.P. Snyder after a photograph by Dabbs. Harper’s Weekly. “The Homestead Riot–The Pinkerton Men Leaving the Barges After the Surrender”. July 16.)

This picture also shows the large number of strikers and the overwhelming force and power they created for themselves which helped them take on the hired Pinkertons and succeed in defeating them.

During the 19th century and the rise of corporate America, men who worked in factories for wealthy businessmen were at the bottom of the power structure.  Life was obviously much harder for workers who were poor and powerless than for the millionaire businessman who owned the companies these men were working for.  

Many workers worked for Andrew Carnegie’s company, Carnegie Steel Company.  These workers worked at the Homestead with thousands of other workers at steel rolling mills.  These men were treated poorly by the Steel Company.  The company made them work very hard.  In a strike song, the men sang that “"You must all renounce your union and forswear your liberty And we will give you a chance to live and die in slavery." ("Song of a Strike": George Swetnam, "Song of a Strike," (1892). Reprinted in Linda Schneider, "The Citizen Striker: Workers' ideology in the Homestead Strike of 1892," Labor History 23 (Winter 1982): 60.).  The men were being told that they must leave their unions which help them protect each other from being oppressed by the companies that employ them.  They also sang that their work made them feel like dieing slaves showing how terrible the work was.  

Not only did workers feel their jobs enslaved them, but they made very low wages.  Henry Clay Frick said in an interview how they were trying to lower the already low wages, but of course the labor union Amalgamated Association was against it.  Frick said that “We had originally asked a reduction to $22, but subsequently agreed to compromise the rate at $23. The Amalgamated Association was unwilling to consider a reduction below $24 on steel billets” (Interview of Frick, Pittsburgh Post, 8 July 1892. Reprinted in House Report 2447, 52nd Congress, 2nd Session: Employment of Pinkerton Detectives (Washington, D.C.: 1892).).  The workers struggled to keep wages from lowering.  This change in wages is what caused the Homestead Strike.  Workers were outraged and did not want their wages to become any lower than they already were.  In a strike song they sang that “They want to lower our wages, we think it is not right” ("The Homestead Strike": The Homestead Strike Songster (New York: n.d.). Reprinted in Philip S. Foner, American Labor Songs of the Nineteenth Century (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1975), 243.).  Workers did not want the wages to drop any lower because they were struggling to even buy food.  In the song they sang that they wanted to “drive the demon Hunger from our door” (("The Homestead Strike": The Homestead Strike Songster (New York: n.d.). Reprinted in Philip S. Foner, American Labor Songs of the Nineteenth Century (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1975), 243.).  Workers were literally starving with wages so low.

During the Homestead strike, the workers were faced with oppression from the powerful company.  Henry Clay Frick who was in charge of the Carnegie Steel Company at the time was seen by almost everyone, not just the workers, as cruel.  Emma Goldman, an anarchist, wrote that ““Frick curtly refused the peace advances of the workers' organization, declaring that there was "nothing to arbitrate." Presently the mills were closed. "Not a strike, but a lockout," Frick announced. It was an open declaration of war” (Emma Goldman, Living My Life (New York: Alfred Knopf, Inc., 1931) 83–88.).  As a worker, one was not only faced with hard work and poor wages, but further oppression from the company when one tried to improve his conditions and wage.  Workers felt they had no other option but to join together and they sang “ Let us unite with heart and hand and spread the news through this broad land, We'll not give in until the company yield, And fight with might and main and travel hand in hand To win this strike or die upon the field” ("The Homestead Strike": The Homestead Strike Songster (New York: n.d.). Reprinted in Philip S. Foner, American Labor Songs of the Nineteenth Century (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1975), 243.).  Workers tried to gain power through numbers to have a chance to successfully gain the better wages they sought.

 Finally, as a worker on strike, one faced violent opposition.  Frick realizing that the strikers had power in numbers, hired Pinkertons, a group of armed detectives, to stop the strikers.  As described in one article, “Every Pinkerton man levelled his Winchester rifle. A few of the bravest of them endeavored to land” during a fight between strikers and Pinkertons ("The Incident" of the 6th of July. From the July 16, 1892 issue of Illustrated American.).  The Pinkertons and workers ended up not just fighting, but shooting at each other.  As a worker, you may have died striking.  Emma Goldman, an anarchist, describes the opposition from the Pinkertons that the strikers faced saying that “in the dead of night, a barge packed with strike-breakers, under protection of heavily armed Pinkerton thugs, quietly stole up the Monongahela River” (Emma Goldman, Living My Life (New York: Alfred Knopf, Inc., 1931) 83–88.).  Workers had to risk their lives in order to try to even slightly improve their lives.

            Workers who went on strike at the Homestead faced many problems.  They had difficult work at the steel mills, low wages, and faced oppression and violent opposition.  The life of a worker was extremely different than that of the people who were at the top of power structure.  Workers in the 19th century had a very difficult life.  

The Powerful Few vs. The Many Powerless

People, places, and power are three key elements involved in influencing events and society. People, places, and power played major roles in causing the rise of corporate America in the 19th century and the conflict between labor and big business.  Through reading and learning about the people, places, and power in America during the rise of corporate America, one can learn how each key idea factored into the economic, political, and social change that occured in the country.  Today, corporate businesses and wealthy investors are a part of our culture. The television show Shark Tank features wealthy investors not dissimilar to the wealthy men of the 19th century.  In the 19th century, however wealthy men never interacted with lower class citizens where as today billionaire Mark Cuban exchanges messages with myself and others, and he follows me on Twitter. During the 19th century, however, big businesses were just being established in America and the ongoing conflicts between the uber rich and the ultra poor were just beginning.  

Samuel Morse- Invented the telegraph which was a machine that provided a way to send messages.

Edwin L. Drake - First to successfully drill for oil leading to it becoming a major industry.

Thomas A. Edison-An inventor who invented many things including the electric light bulb.  He had a powerplant built so many people could use the new electrical lighting and not need their own generator.  Electric power from powerplants was used to also power fans, printing presses and other new appliances.

Alexander Graham Bell- An inventor who invents the telephone in Boston, MA.  Bell and partners create the American Telephone and Telegraph Company which becomes a monopoly.

Transcontinental Railroad- A railway extending from coast to coast.

Bessemer Process- A new process for making steel independently developed by Henry Bessemer and William Kelly.

Andrew Carnegie -A businessman and investor from Pittsburgh who had a "rags to riches" story.  He became rich with his investments and his steel company, Carnegie Steel Company.  He learned that to make money you need money.  He wad also a major public figure.  He believed people should make money but give most away.  He wrote a now famous book titled The Gospel of Wealth.  He also put a lot of money towards education.

John D. Rockefellar- A powerful and wealthy businessman in the US who earned his fortune after starting the Standard Oil Company in 1870.

Oligopoly- A market structure where a few large profitable firms dominate.

Monopoly-Complete control of a product or service.

Vertical consolidation- Gaining control of the many different businesses that make up all phases of a product's developement.

Economies of Scale- As production increases the cost of each priduct is lowered.

Horizontal consolidation- The bringing together of many firms in the same business. 

Trust- A single unit that manages and controls a company/companies.

Sherman Antitrust Act- An act that outlawed any combination of companies that restrained interstate trade or commerce.

Piecework- A system where workers are paid for amount of work they do (number of items/pieces produced) and not the amount of time they work.

Sweatshop- A place (shop) where employees worked for low wages in poor conditions usually under the piecework system.

Division of Labor-A method where each worker is assigned a different, small task to perform for the production of a product.  

Socialism-An economic and political philosophy that favors public instead of private control of property and income.

The Knights of Labor Union - A union that accepted many different people and pursued broad social reforms.  In 1882 they sponsored the first Labor Day.

Craft Union- A union where not all workers are organized; rather only skilled workers in a network of smaller unions, each devoted to a specific craft are organized.

Collective Bargaining- A process in which workers negotiate as a group with employers.

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877- A series of strikes that resulted after large wage cuts angered workers.  These workers decided to run strikes to prevent running trains.  They also attacked railroad property and the federal government was requested to step in to help stop the strikes.  Federal troops were sent in multiple times to stop the violence.  It started in Martinsburg West Virginia and continued in Pittsburgh, Chicago, St. Louis and other cities.  These strikes symbolize the start of a new and violent era.

Eugene V. Debs -A man that took a leadership role in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen.  He spoke out against 1877 strike and did not believe strikes should be violent.

Industrial Union- A union that organized all workers from all crafts in a given industry.

The American Railway Union- A union that united all railroad workers.

Haymarket 1866-A national demonstration on May 1st for eight hour workday in Chicago Haymarket Square that caused other strikes to break out in other cities.  On May 3rd, fighting between strikers and scabs in Chicago's McCormick reaper factory occurred.  On May 4th a rally started by Union leaders occured in Chicago Haymarket Square which quickly became violent with a bonb being thrown and multiple casualties.

Scab- A negative term for a worker called in by an employer to replace striking laborers.

George Pullman-An inventor who invented a luxury sleeping car.  He made a town just for workers.  He cut wages casuing people to become angry and strike.  He responded by killing some of the strikers. 

J.P. Morgan-A son of a banker who sold stocks for railroads as well as defective rifles.  He started the J.P. Morgan & Company, aquring a fortune.  He brought rationality and organization to the national economy.  He aquried many businesses including the Carnegie Steel Company which he turned into the U.S. Steel Cooporation.  

Enduring Understanding: The creation of new ideas by people allow a small amount of people to obtain a large amount of power.

• Drilling for oil was a new idea disovered by Edwin L. Drake (America: Pathways to the Present).  John D. Rockefeller took advantage of this new idea and bought an oil refinery starting the Standard Oil Company which made him become a wealthy and poweful man with a fortune of two billion dollars (A People's History of the United States: Robber Barrons and Rebels 256-257)
• Andrew Carnegie saw the new method for producing steel known as the Bessemer method and built a steel plant which he in turn sold to J.P. Morgan for 492 millions dollars.  Carnegie became another wealthy and powerful business man (A People's History of the United States: Robber Barrons and Rebels 257)

Enduring Understanding: Large groups of people, sometimes coming from different places, work in similar places for a few people who in turn gain immense power.

• Italian, Russian, Jewish, Greek, Chinese and other immigrants who came to the United States all worked for powerful men.  These men often mass-contracted the immigrants to various businesses.  For example, some immigrants worked together in sulfate mines in poor conditions in the South which created wealth and power for the owners of the mines (A People's History of the United States: Robber Barrons and Rebels 265-266).
• 75% of the nation's wealth was held by the richest 9% of Americans, meaning most of the money was going toward a few powerful men in a consolidating effect.  The annual salary of the average worker was only a few hundred dollars while the owners of businesses that many of these workers worked for sometimes accumulated millions or hundreds of millions of dollars from these workers' efforts (America: Pathways to the Present).

Enduring Understanding: People with power will try to opress those working in the same places that do not have power, especially when these people try to change the distribution of power.

• George Pullman cut wages for his workers who all lived in the town he created for them, in order to achieve more wealth and power for himself.  When the workers protested, Pullman fired three protesters causing the union to go on strike.  He did not give in and instead shut down his plant (America: Pathways to the Present).
• The Texas & Pacific Railroad fired someone who was a leader of a union called the Knights of Labor which lead to many workers of the railroad to go on strike.  The company had these strikers arrested for refusing to work (A People's History of the United States: Robber Barrons and Rebels 269).

During the rise of corporate America in the 19th century, new inventions and ideas led to a few men obtaining massive amounts of power through the creation of new businesses and even entire industries.  The men in power consolidated all the power and wealth obtained through the work of thousands of workers for themselves.  Most of these workers worked in factories and many were coming from different places and immigrating into the country.  To preserve this power they oppressed thousands of workers they had employed.   

Inventions like the light bulb from Thomas Edison and the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell led to new big businesses like General Electric and the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (America: Pathways to the Present).  Other people were taking advantage of new industries to obtain exorbitant amounts of wealth and power like John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie.  After Edwin L. Drake found a way to successfully drill for oil, Rockefeller bought an oil refinery and eventually created the Standard Oil Company which made him become a wealthy and poweful man with a fortune of two billion dollars (A People's History of the United States: Robber Barrons and Rebels 256-257).  Carnegie took advantage of the newly discovered Bessemer method that produced steel more efficiently and started the Carnegie Steel Company which he later sold to J.P. Morgan for 492 million dollars(A People's History of the United States: Robber Barrons and Rebels 257).  This helped him become a public figure and gain a lot of wealth.

A large amount of labor was required to keep businesses going, but most of the wealth earned through the hard labor of workers went to owners of factories and businessmen.  75% of the nation's wealth was held by the richest 9% of Americans, meaning most of the money was going toward a few powerful men in a consolidating effect (America: Pathways to the Present).  The annual salary of the average worker was only a few hundred dollars while the owners of businesses that many of these workers worked for sometimes accumulated millions or hundreds of millions of dollars from these workers' efforts (America: Pathways to the Present).  Most workers worked in similar places but often had immigrated from various countries.  People of all different nationalties and ethnicities including Italian, Russian, Jewish, Greek, and Chinese came to the United States and worked for powerful men (A People's History of the United States: Robber Barrons and Rebels 265-266).  These men often mass-contracted the immigrants to various businesses.  For example, some immigrants worked together in sulfate mines in poor conditions in the South which created wealth and power for the owners of the mines (A People's History of the United States: Robber Barrons and Rebels 265-266).

Not only was a large amount of labor required to keep businesses profitable and functional, but the wealthy and powerful men opressed people who tried to obtain some of their wealth and power.  Many people were employed in factories during the rise of coporate America while some worked on railroads.  These people worked so hard and for so little money that they created unions to protect themselevs and other workers and to strike to change the distribution of power and their miserable conditions.  When the Texas & Pacific Railroad fired someone who was a leader of a union called the Knights of Labor, many workers of the railroad went on strike (A People's History of the United States: Robber Barrons and Rebels 269).  The company responded by having these strikers arrested for refusing to work (A People's History of the United States: Robber Barrons and Rebels 269).  Another man who wanted to keep and obtain more power and money was George Pullman.  He invented a luxury sleeping car for trains and created his own town just for his own workers (America: Pathways to the Present).  He decided to cut wages to increase his profits, and when angry workers protested, he fired three of them (America: Pathways to the Present).  This just increased the anger of the workers who then decided to go on strike, but Pullman refused to give in and ended up shutting down one of his plants (America: Pathways to the Present).

In the 19th century the rise of corporate America caused conflicts between laborers and big businesses.  Most people during this time were either part of the few wealthy and powerful or workers for these powerful few.  The people with power were greedy for more wealth and power and oppressed those who worked for them.  The people who worked for them worked in similar places and conditions, many of whom had come from all over the world and were immigrants to the United States.  Inventions and new industries drove the developement of corporate America. 

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The KKK in the South Kills Reconstruction

                When a child thinks of opposites, he/she may think of hot and cold, yes and no, smart and stupid.  When someone thinks of opposites that occurred during the 19^th century in the United States, he/she will think of black and white, north and south.  Opposites in history have been the central cause to many conflicts.  During the 19^th century in the United States, the reconstruction was occurring; a time after the civil war, when reorganization or reestablishment of the seceded US states was taking place.  The reconstruction was not just a physical reconstruction, but a time when blacks and whites social and equality issues were being discussed and acted upon.  In the United States during the late 19^th century, the conflicts between black and white people increased after the end of reconstruction.  Reconstruction is considered to have ended with The Compromise of 1877.  This compromise allowed Hayes to win the electoral vote and the presidency, but in return he had to immediately remove Union troops from the south who were assisting with reconstruction.  Leading up to this compromise there were many different actions taken by the North and South that led up to the demise of reconstruction.  While the North contributed to ending reconstruction, the main cause was the violent treatment of blacks by the South.

                In the south, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), a group of white men who terrorized people including blacks, created violence that led towards the end of reconstruction.  One senator, John W. Stephens, from Caswell was murdered by the KKK for being a “brave Republican” (Document A).  He was considered a scalawag; someone from the south who supported blacks and the efforts made by carpetbaggers and freedmen.  Carpetbaggers, northerners who went south to aid in reconstruction, were also threatened by the KKK.  Tourgee, the author of the letter to a senator, states that he feels threatened by the KKK (Document A).  Tourgee was a carpetbagger and supported blacks during reconstruction.  He said that “any member of Congress who, especially from the South, does not support, advocate, and urge immediate active and thorough measures to put an end to these outrages…is a coward, a traitor, or a fool” (Document A).  Tourgee believed that the KKK posed a major threat to his and other carpetbagger and scalawags’ safety (Document A).  If the carpetbaggers and scalawags supporting and aiding in reconstruction were threatened or killed, it would lead to an end in reconstruction.  

The picture of two white carpetbaggers and scalawags with a KKK donkey, anonymously posted in the Independent Monitor, shows that the KKK was threatening to hang carpetbaggers and scalawags which would also lead to the end of aid from them, resulting in the ruin of the reconstruction effort (Document A).  The KKK not only threatened carpetbaggers and scalawags, but they also threatened blacks who wanted to vote for radical republicans.  Blacks voted for radical republicans because they were northern republican congressmen who supported African-American citizenship and punishment for former Confederates.  Radical republicans supported reconstruction.  The KKK, consisting of many former Confederates, did not want radical republicans voted into office.  Colby, a former black slave was elected to the Georgia State Legislature during reconstruction and Colby testified that the KKK “whipped me a thousand licks more, with sticks and straps that had buckles on the ends of them” (Document B).  The KKK also tried to buy his legislative seat from Colby and Colby testified that “they would pay me $2,500 in cash if I would let another man go to the legislature in my place” (Document B).  The KKK used violent approaches to stop blacks from voting as seen in the picture from Harper’s Weekly where two KKK are holding a gun up to a black man’s head to keep him from voting (Document B).  

By keeping blacks from voting, radical republicans lost votes.  Since radical republicans supported reconstruction, by keeping them from gaining any political power, the KKK was able to help stop reconstruction.  Through keeping blacks from voting and by acting violently upon carpetbaggers and scalawags, the KKK in the South was a main contributor of the end of reconstruction.

               

                In the North, the reconstruction was not a priority, but if the KKK had not been acting violently towards blacks and others supporting reconstruction, the North’s lack of interest would not have been a hindrance to keeping reconstruction going.  The North was not against reconstruction; their focus however was elsewhere.  Instead of being worried about reconstruction, they were worried about the Panic of 1873, an economic crisis, and the corruption in the government (Document C).  

As seen in the picture, Grant, the president in charge during this period of corruption and crisis is submerged headfirst in a barrel (Document C).  He is trying to get to the bottom of the corruption in the government, but while he has his head buried in these issues, he is unaware of what is happening in the country (Document C).  He is unaware of and not worried about reconstruction because he (and other northerners) are distracted by what they believe are more important issues (Document C).  This distraction leads to less support from the north to continue reconstruction.  However, if the KKK in the South was not threatening blacks and trying to end reconstruction, reconstruction would have been able to continue to some degree even with the North’s lack of caring.  One of the largest contributions the North had to ending reconstruction was that the majority of the white population’s expressed their view that black people were “unfitted for the proper exercise of political duties” (Document D).  In the Boston Evening Transcript, there was an article that argued “blacks needed a period of probation and instruction; a period…long enough for the black to have forgotten something of his condition as a slave” (Document D).  The article claimed that black people needed to become educated and wait until they were more civilized and no longer could remember being a slave before being granted any political rights (Document D).  

In the picture printed in Harper’s Weekly, a common magazine at the time, there is an image of black people trying to exercise political duties (Document D).  They are drawn like monkeys and there is clearly chaos which is shown through the fighting (Document D).  This image shows blacks to be incapable of having any political rights.  Holding back black’s political rights in turn held back the reconstruction, however unlike the violence of the KKK it did not cause the reconstruction to completely end.  While the North contributed to the end of reconstruction with its views of blacks and lack of interest, the North’s actions alone would not have caused the end of reconstruction without the violence of the KKK in the south.

                During the 19^th century in the United States, the country faced many problems.  There were social, economic, and political issues.  The government was corrupt, there was an economic crisis, and reconstruction abruptly came to an end.  Blacks were trying to gain careers, as well as political, and other rights.  The North with its own concerns and low opinion of blacks did not continue to support the reconstruction and blacks’ advancement.  While a few Northerners, like carpetbaggers and radical republicans tried to support the reconstruction efforts, the KKK stopped these efforts with the violent actions they took.  While the North contributed to the end of reconstruction, the violence of the KKK in the South caused the reconstruction to eventually be ended by the government with the Compromise of 1877.

Document A: Albion Tourgee, Letter on Ku Klux Klan Activities. New York Tribune, May 1870.

Image: Independent Monitor, September 1, 1868. Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama.

Document B: Abram Colby, testimony to a joint House and Senate Committee in 1872.

Image: Harper's Weekly, October 21, 1876.

Document C: Gerald Danzer et al., The Americans, McDougal Littell, 1998.

Image: Harper's Weekly, 1876.

Document D: Heather Cox Richardson, The Death of Reconstruction: Race, Labor and Politics in the Post-Civil War North, 1865-1901. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2001.

Image: The cover of Harper's Weekly, March 14, 1874.