Conclusion: A Passion for Organization

From 1877 to 1900, industrial workers and farmers joined the march toward organization led by the likes of Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Morgan. These wealthy titans of industry and finance had created the large corporations that transformed the rhythms and meanings of factory labor and farm life. Working people such as John McLuckie met the challenges of the new industrial order by organizing unions. Lacking the power of giant companies, which was reinforced by the federal government, labor unions nevertheless carved out sufficient space for workers to join together in their own defense to resist absolute corporate rule. At the same time, farmers, perhaps the most individualistic workers, and their advocates, such as Mary Elizabeth Lease, created organizations that proposed some of the most forward-looking solutions to remedy the ills accompanying industrialization. Though the political fortunes of the Grangers and Populists declined, their message persisted: Resourceful and determined workers and farmers could, and should, join together to ensure survival not just of the fittest but of the neediest as well.

Under the pressure of increased turmoil surrounding industrialization and a brutal economic depression, the political system reached a crisis in the 1890s. Despite the historic shift in party loyalties brought about by the election of William McKinley, it remained to be seen whether political party realignment could furnish the necessary leadership to address the problems of workers and farmers. Industrialization had proven painful and disorienting for millions of Americans. The events of the 1890s convinced many Americans, including many in the middle class, that the hands-off approach to social and economic problems that had prevailed in the past was no longer acceptable. In cities and states across the country, men and women took up the cause of reform. They had to wait for national leaders to catch up to them.

Chapter Review

IDENTIFY KEY TERMS

Identify and explain the significance of each term below.

unskilled workers (p. 434)

skilled workers (p. 434)

unions (p. 437)

collective bargaining (p. 437)

Noble Order of the Knights of Labor (p. 437)

Haymarket Square (p. 438)

American Federation of Labor (AFL) (p. 439)

Homestead strike (p. 440)

Pullman strike (p. 441)

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) (p. 442)

Grangers (p. 446)

Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) (p. 447)

Farmers' Alliances (p. 447)

subtreasury system (p. 447)

Populists (p. 448)

depression of 1893 (p. 449)

Coxey's army (p. 450)

REVIEW & RELATE

Answer the focus questions from each section of the chapter.

1. How did industrialization change the American workplace? What challenges did it create for American workers?

2. How did workers resist the concentrated power of industrial capitalists in the late nineteenth century, and why did such efforts have only limited success?

3. Why was life so difficult for American farmers in the late nineteenth century?

4. What were the similarities and differences between farmers' and industrial workers' efforts to organize in the late nineteenth century?

5. How did the federal government respond to the depression of 1893?

6. What were the long-term political consequences of the depression of 1893?

TIMELINE OF EVENTS