6.7 Labor in the Gilded Age

7 min read•june 18, 2024

Robby May

Ashley Rossi

Riya Patel

AP US History 🇺🇸

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As industrialization boomed during the Gilded Age, the gap between the rich and the poor expanded significantly. Industrialization led to the growth of large factories and the rise of big business, which concentrated wealth and power in the hands of a small group of industrialists and business leaders. This led to a significant increase in economic inequality.

Workers during this time often worked long hours in unsafe and unhealthy conditions for very low pay. Many of these workers were immigrants or members of minority groups who faced discrimination and were often paid even less than other workers. Children were also commonly employed in these harsh conditions, often working long hours and performing dangerous tasks with no legal protections or compensation for injuries.

This led to the rise of labor unions and the labor movement, as workers sought to improve their working conditions, wages, and rights. However, as discussed earlier, management often used various tactics to suppress these movements and maintain the status quo.

Anti-Union Techniques

During the Gilded Age, management often held a significant advantage over organized labor in terms of resources and power. With a surplus of cheap labor, management had the ability to replace striking workers with strikebreakers or scabs, who were unemployed persons desperate for jobs. This made it difficult for strikes to be successful and weakened the power of labor unions.

In addition to using strikebreakers, management also used a variety of tactics to defeat unions and suppress labor movements.

These tactics include:

Lockout: closing a factory or workplace to prevent workers from going to work and breaking a labor movement before it could get organized.
Blacklists: names of pro-union workers circulated among employers, making it difficult for those workers to find employment.
Yellow-dog contracts: workers being told, as a condition for employment, that they must sign an agreement not to join a union.
Calling in private guards or state militia to put down strikes.
Obtaining court injunctions: court orders to stop a strike, making it illegal for workers to continue their strike action.

These tactics were commonly used by management during the Gilded Age to suppress labor movements and weaken unions, and were a significant factor in the struggle between management and labor during that time period.

Examples

During the Gilded Age (approximately 1870s to 1900), there were several examples of management using these tactics against organized labor in the United States:

The 1877 Great Railroad Strike, which began as a strike by railroad workers, was put down by state militias and federal troops, with many strikers being arrested and some killed.
The 1894 Pullman Strike, where the Pullman Palace Car Company used a lockout against its workers in an effort to break the strike, which ultimately led to a nationwide railroad strike.
The 1892 Homestead Strike, where the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers went on strike against the Carnegie Steel Company, resulting in the company bringing in strikebreakers and calling in the state militia to put down the strike.
The 1901 Coal Strike in Pennsylvania, where the United Mine Workers of America went on strike and the state militia was called in to put down the strike.
The 1894 Ludlow Massacre, where the National Guard was called in to put down a strike by coal miners, leading to the deaths of more than 20 people, including women and children.

Early Unions

In an effort to protect their rights and improve their working conditions, workers began forming labor unions. The National Labor Union (NLU) was one of the first of these groups, formed in 1866, it sought to improve the rights and working conditions of all workers, regardless of their trade or skill level. They fought for an eight-hour workday, greater equality in the workplace, and the right to organize. However, the economic Panic of 1873 led to decreased membership for the National Labor Union, and it eventually dissolved in 1876.

Another early labor union was the Knights of Labor, which formed in 1869. The Knights of Labor was more inclusive than the NLU and accepted all workers regardless of their skill, race, or gender. They also advocated for the eight-hour workday and the right to organize, but in addition, they aimed for the abolishment of child labor and monopolistic trusts. The Knights of Labor was one of the most influential labor unions in the late 19th century, but it was also impacted by the economic downturns and internal conflicts, which led to a decline in membership.

These unions were the first steps in the labor movement and set the foundation for future labor unions to advocate for workers' rights and improve their working conditions.

Haymarket Riot

Image Courtesy of Wikimedia

The Haymarket Riot of 1886 in Chicago was a significant event in the history of labor unions in the United States. The riot occurred during a labor protest in support of workers striking for an eight-hour workday, and it turned violent when someone threw a bomb at the police, killing eight people.

While the identity of the person who threw the bomb is still unknown, it led to a backlash against labor unions and the labor movement as a whole. Many people began to view labor unions as radical and anarchist organizations, which was further fueled by the growing Nativist sentiment of the time (Nativism is the political position of promoting the interests of native inhabitants against those of immigrants).

This incident had a major impact on the Knights of Labor, one of the most influential labor unions of the time. The Knights of Labor, which had already been struggling with declining membership and internal conflicts, was further weakened by the negative public perception of labor unions following the Haymarket Riot. The public opinion of the unions was damaged and the organization was unable to recover from the blow.

The Haymarket Riot had a significant impact on the labor movement, as it led to increased government repression of labor unions and further weakened the power of organized labor during the Gilded Age.

American Federation of Laborers

The American Federation of Labor (AFL), led by Samuel Gompers, was one of the most influential labor unions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The AFL focused on narrower goals, such as better wages and better working conditions, rather than the more broad and ambitious goals of earlier labor unions like the National Labor Union and the Knights of Labor.

The AFL grew to become the largest labor union by 1901, and it had a significant impact on the labor movement during that time period. However, the AFL's initial success was limited, as many workers were still struggling to improve their working conditions and wages. The AFL and other labor unions would sometimes organize their efforts in strikes, but more often than not, the federal government supported big business and in some instances, forcefully ended workers’ efforts.

During the Gilded Age, the government often sided with business owners, who were seen as the backbone of the American economy, over workers. This led to a number of anti-union laws and court decisions that weakened the power of labor unions. For example, the courts issued injunctions against strikes, which made it illegal for workers to continue their strike action. The government also used force to break up strikes, and many states passed anti-union legislation.

Despite the challenges they faced, labor unions continued to advocate for workers' rights and improve their working conditions throughout the 20th century. The AFL played a key role in the labor movement, but it was not the only one, other unions like the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) also had a strong presence.

Strikes

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and the Pullman Strike of 1894 are notable examples of the federal government's intervention to end strikes and suppress labor unions.

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was a nationwide strike by railroad workers, who were protesting wage cuts and poor working conditions. The strike quickly spread to other industries and became one of the largest labor strikes in American history. The federal government, however, intervened and sent federal troops to break up the strikes, which led to violent clashes and the deaths of several workers. The strike was ultimately put down, but it marked a turning point in the relationship between labor and the government, with the government taking a more aggressive stance towards labor unions.

The Pullman Strike of 1894 was a strike by railroad workers in the Pullman Palace Car Company, which manufactured sleeping cars for trains. The workers, who were protesting wage cuts and poor working conditions, were joined by other railroad workers and the strike quickly spread nationwide. The federal government, under the leadership of President Cleveland, intervened and obtained a court injunction against the strike, which made it illegal for the workers to continue their strike action. Federal troops were also sent to break up the strike, which resulted in several deaths and injuries.

Image Courtesy of The Gilded age

In the Homestead Strike of 1892, Henry Clay Frick (manager of Carnegie’s Homestead Steel mill) incited resistance by reducing workers’ wages. The workers went on strike and Frick responded by locking the workers out of the plant. The workers surrounded it and Frick hired a small private army, the Pinkertons, to drive them off. Workers spotted the Pinkertons and pinned them down with gunfire and forced them to surrender. The Pennsylvania governor ordered the militia to impose peace at Homestead.

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