Dbq 05
AP U.S.
1/28/14
DBQ Between 1875 and 1900, there were organized labor forces popping up left and right, and the purpose of all of them was to improve the common workers position. However, few of these unions managed to bring much of a positive change. At the time, the three most influential labor forces were the Knights of Labor, who fell from power before they could bring much change, the American Federation of Labor, who didn’t fare any better, and the Populist party, who could be seen as the most successful of the three, though not actually successful. The Knights of Labor got their start in 1869 out of what was once the National Labor Union. They were heavily opposed to getting involved in politics, and instead focused on economic and social reform. The Knights of Labor used their strikes towards the improvement of worker health and safety, and more importantly to change the work shift from 10 hours to 8. Under successful leadership from Terence V. Powderly, they managed to win many strikes in attempts to shorten the workday, and rose to almost a million members. However, they began to fall from power after a strike organized at Haymarket Square. Members of the Knights of Labor were protesting there when anarchists threw dynamite into the crowd, killing multiple police officers. After that the Knights of Labor were seen as the culprits for the act, which crippled there eight-hour day movement. Proof of this can be seen in a chart made by the Historical Statistics of the U.S., which shows that the average work day went from 9.9 hours in 1875 to 9.4 hours in 1891-nowhere near the 8 hour mark. Another reason for the downfall of the Knights of Labor is all of the different groups trying to change labor in their own way, as portrayed in a political cartoon featured in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. The two most important figures in that cartoon are the anarchist and the knight of labor, both trying to “cook the labor interest broth” at the same time,
1/28/14
DBQ Between 1875 and 1900, there were organized labor forces popping up left and right, and the purpose of all of them was to improve the common workers position. However, few of these unions managed to bring much of a positive change. At the time, the three most influential labor forces were the Knights of Labor, who fell from power before they could bring much change, the American Federation of Labor, who didn’t fare any better, and the Populist party, who could be seen as the most successful of the three, though not actually successful. The Knights of Labor got their start in 1869 out of what was once the National Labor Union. They were heavily opposed to getting involved in politics, and instead focused on economic and social reform. The Knights of Labor used their strikes towards the improvement of worker health and safety, and more importantly to change the work shift from 10 hours to 8. Under successful leadership from Terence V. Powderly, they managed to win many strikes in attempts to shorten the workday, and rose to almost a million members. However, they began to fall from power after a strike organized at Haymarket Square. Members of the Knights of Labor were protesting there when anarchists threw dynamite into the crowd, killing multiple police officers. After that the Knights of Labor were seen as the culprits for the act, which crippled there eight-hour day movement. Proof of this can be seen in a chart made by the Historical Statistics of the U.S., which shows that the average work day went from 9.9 hours in 1875 to 9.4 hours in 1891-nowhere near the 8 hour mark. Another reason for the downfall of the Knights of Labor is all of the different groups trying to change labor in their own way, as portrayed in a political cartoon featured in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. The two most important figures in that cartoon are the anarchist and the knight of labor, both trying to “cook the labor interest broth” at the same time,