![]() Loading Sugar CaneĪlthough industry was the primary force of this period, many people still maintained farms across the country. Children of immigrants would aspire to such jobs to increase their social standing in a society that was often prejudiced against newcomers. A social stratification began to emerge that made white-collar jobs seem more prestigious to many than blue-collar ones. White-collar jobs required at least a high-school education and certain conventions of deportment and dress that the blue-collar jobs did not. The white-collar workers were further distinguished by earning salaries instead of wages by the hour or piece of work. Such workers began to be classified with managers in the census as opposed to being classified with skilled craftsmen and unskilled labor. This period also saw the rapid growth of white-collar jobs as industrial capitalism led to the need for more administrative and clerical workers. Films of Westinghouse made in 1904 are included in this collection. The Westinghouse Works used such initiatives, which ultimately failed as a whole when unionism became more powerful in the United States. Some of the benefits included subsidized housing, libraries, and employee social clubs. In response to criticisms aimed at industry, some companies instituted "welfare capitalism," giving employees special benefits to secure loyalty and to prevent the creation of unions. During Woodrow Wilson's presidency, Progressive principles were furthered when statutes were passed for an eight-hour workday for railroad workers, workers' compensation, and regulation of child labor. President Theodore Roosevelt supported regulation of big business and sometimes supported workers' rights against the interests of industry. In what was known as the Progressive Era, roughly from 1900 to World War I, reformers sought to improve the lot of the underprivileged of America by rectifying perceived wrongs. Instances such as this caused many to see the excesses of American business and the need for reform. ![]() The Pullman Strike was one such instance where the government squelched a railway workers' strike by attaching mail cars to all the trains and then invoking the law that made it illegal to impede the movement of mail. In their early years, however, these labor groups were rarely successful, as the capitalists often resorted to government support to enforce their policies on laborers. Groups such as these would organize strikes and boycotts in order to get management to acquiesce to their demands. In this period of labor unrest, many members in these groups were politically radical, supporting anarchism, communism, and socialism as tools of change. The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), formed in 1905, also included unskilled workers in its ranks. The American Federation of Labor (AFL), for example, was created in 1886 for skilled craftsmen under the leadership of Samuel Gompers. ![]() Workers fought their often demeaning work conditions by uniting together into collective groups and unions. Tasks tended to be divided for efficiency's sake which led to repetitive and monotonous work for employees. Working conditions were frequently unsafe and led to deadly accidents. Hours were long, typically ten to twelve hours a day. The working conditions in factories were often harsh. Working-class and immigrant families often needed to have many family members, including women and children, work in factories to survive. Immigrants would generally arrive in the cities and take up factory work there to make a living. This trend marked a shift from a more agrarian way of life to that of labor for wages. As one of the leading industrial powers of the period, the United States had a variety of enterprises, including the manufacture of iron, steel, crude oil, and textiles. ![]() In the 1890s, cities grew as more Americans took urban industrial work. But from these tumultuous years grew many of the initiatives that have continued today, including the increased presence of women in the workforce, workers' benefits, the prevalence of white-collar and retail jobs, and the need for reasonable work hours, vacations, and safe working conditions. Disputes between labor and management were rife. A depression had begun in 1893 (following two others in the previous twenty years), forcing some plants to close and many workers into the ranks of the unemployed. Immigration was continuing in unprecedented numbers, especially from eastern and southern Europe, forever altering the makeup of the workforce. ![]() Industrialism was growing largely unchecked in the United States after the Civil War, creating new jobs and new problems simultaneously. The period from 1894 to 1915 was a period of change, unrest, and economic uncertainty for the workers of the United States. ![]()
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