This information can also be found in the textbook if you're interested. Check on pages 201-215.
The first industrial revolution in Europe brought with it many changes to how work was done. Two of the most important were the development of factories and the need for more unskilled labor. Factories brought together the new technology that made industrialization possible and the workers who ran the machinery to produce goods. This brought workers away from their homes and into cities, changed business models, and even led to widespread use of clocks to track how labor was used. The need for unskilled labor grew as certain technologies made some jobs much easier and simpler. The second industrial revolution made these changes even more significant. But the divide between the lower and upper social classes expanded greatly during the second period of rapid industrialization.
There have always been the rich and the poor. But the Gilded Age was an unusual time in which the rich became far wealthier while the poor became even more miserable. To understand, compare the low wages and terrible working conditions for the poor laborers to the enormous wealth of businessmen who took great pleasure in showing off their money and surrounding themselves with luxury. The industrial capitalists of this era styled themselves as magnates and tycoons but the people knew them as robber barons for the way they lied, cheated, and took advantage of laborers in order to make themselves richer. Learning Target #3 will discuss specific business practices with more detail. Perhaps that Learning Target should come before this one.
Laborers worked ten to twelve hour days or longer. Their wages were mere pennies compared to the profits of their production. The jobs they worked were often incredibly dangerous as they maintained the furnaces for making steel, laid track for railroads, went deep into mines, and so on. The exhaustion from the work day and malnutrition from a lack of meaningful wages just made these dangerous jobs even more dangerous.
But workers began to organize to fight for their rights. Ironically, the courts ruled this illegal at first and unfair to the businessmen who combined their companies and acted deceitfully to prevent competition. But the workers continued to organize and develop methods of demonstrating that they would not quietly accept their poor treatment.
Laborers began to strike and to protest. They began to create organizations that went beyond local and connected laborers from around the country. They demanded better pay, more reasonable hours, and safer workplaces. They were often met with violence and a lack of support from their own representatives in government. Despite all this, the labor movement grew stronger and spread across the United States.
The first industrial revolution in Europe brought with it many changes to how work was done. Two of the most important were the development of factories and the need for more unskilled labor. Factories brought together the new technology that made industrialization possible and the workers who ran the machinery to produce goods. This brought workers away from their homes and into cities, changed business models, and even led to widespread use of clocks to track how labor was used. The need for unskilled labor grew as certain technologies made some jobs much easier and simpler. The second industrial revolution made these changes even more significant. But the divide between the lower and upper social classes expanded greatly during the second period of rapid industrialization.
There have always been the rich and the poor. But the Gilded Age was an unusual time in which the rich became far wealthier while the poor became even more miserable. To understand, compare the low wages and terrible working conditions for the poor laborers to the enormous wealth of businessmen who took great pleasure in showing off their money and surrounding themselves with luxury. The industrial capitalists of this era styled themselves as magnates and tycoons but the people knew them as robber barons for the way they lied, cheated, and took advantage of laborers in order to make themselves richer. Learning Target #3 will discuss specific business practices with more detail. Perhaps that Learning Target should come before this one.
Laborers worked ten to twelve hour days or longer. Their wages were mere pennies compared to the profits of their production. The jobs they worked were often incredibly dangerous as they maintained the furnaces for making steel, laid track for railroads, went deep into mines, and so on. The exhaustion from the work day and malnutrition from a lack of meaningful wages just made these dangerous jobs even more dangerous.
But workers began to organize to fight for their rights. Ironically, the courts ruled this illegal at first and unfair to the businessmen who combined their companies and acted deceitfully to prevent competition. But the workers continued to organize and develop methods of demonstrating that they would not quietly accept their poor treatment.
Laborers began to strike and to protest. They began to create organizations that went beyond local and connected laborers from around the country. They demanded better pay, more reasonable hours, and safer workplaces. They were often met with violence and a lack of support from their own representatives in government. Despite all this, the labor movement grew stronger and spread across the United States.
- Explain what you have learned about the labor movement during the Gilded Age in your own words. Why is this knowledge important to have and understand?
- Create a visual representation of what you have learned. Please, include a brief write-up explaining what you have drawn.
- Relate the labor movement of the Gilded Age to the current status of labor unions in this country. Specifically, you could discuss right-to-work in the state of Michigan.
- Research a labor organization from the Gilded Age and explain their impact on the labor movement: the National Labor Union, the Knights of Labor, or the American Federation of Labor.
- Research a labor leader from the Gilded Age and explain their impact on the labor movement: Samuel Gompers, Eugene V. Debs, or Terence Powderly.
- Research socialism. Explain how it is connected with the labor movement of the Gilded Age and evaluate it as a political system.
- Do some research on the events of the Gilded Age in terms of the relationship between industrial capitalists and the labor movement then create a timeline summarizing significant events.
- Read the "Robber Barons and Rebels" and "The Socialist Challenge" chapters of A People's History of the United States. Take notes from the reading that explain the relationship between industrial capitalists and the labor movement. Be prepared to discuss the chapter.
- Complete two or more of the Proficient Mastery tasks.
Any of the following resources can help you develop your mastery of this Learning Target and assist you in demonstrating that mastery. Share any excellent resources that you find for the benefit of all learners!
"Robber Barons and Rebels" from A People's History of the United States
Always remember there are plenty of books in the class library as well!
"Robber Barons and Rebels" from A People's History of the United States
- Source: History Is A Weapon
- I can't provide each of you with a physical copy of this great book but I can show you where to find it online. Howard Zinn is the historian I most respect and this book got me thinking critically about history in ways none of my teachers really had.
Always remember there are plenty of books in the class library as well!