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Essay The Labor Movement

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The History of the Labor Movement Since the beginnings of industrialization in the United States, a struggle between the rights of individuals working in industry and manufacturing and the desire of the ownership of these endeavors to maximize profits has raged. As various eras in history passed, labor movements in the United States met with varying degrees of success. The fortunes of labor movements in the United States has ebbed and flowed along with other key factors in American society. In times when human rights and the rights of the individual were national priorities, the labor movement prospered, in times where businesses and profitability were the priority, the labor movement faltered. In the post-civil war era, 1865-1876, the …show more content…

(Laslett, 1970) Coupled with these innovations was the new concept of applying scientific methodology to industrial processes. (Laslett, 1970) All of these changes, while beneficial to businesses, did little to improve the lot of the industrial laborer. (Laslett, 1970) One of the key complaints of an entirely unregulated labor force in the late 1800s was the extensive use and abuse of child labor. In 1870, nearly three quarters of a million children between the ages of ten and fifteen worked in hazardous aspects of manufacturing, agriculture and street trade. (Laslett, 1970) By 1880, that number was over one point one million, or one in every six children in that age group. (Laslett, 1970) By 1900, that number doubled. The conditions under which children worked were very dangerous. They worked the same shifts as adults (about 12 hours a day, six days a week), denying them the opportunity for school and play. (Laslett, 1970) The factories, mills, mines and other work venues in which they labored were unsafe and unregulated. Children were also often used in the most dangerous aspects of industrial work, such as clearing jammed machines or working in confined spaces too small for adults. (Laslett, 1970) In 1881, only seven states had any kind of regulation laws for child laborer. Desperate for money to survive, immigrants and working-class Americans forged

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