19th Century American Workers Dbq

In the late 19th century, the United States experienced a period of extreme growth. Industries dotted the country, and aspiring entrepreneurs strove to accumulate as much wealth as possible. However, for the working class of America, life was not as promising. The ones who powered the industries of the rising rich bosses labored in dangerous conditions. Along with the actual workers, many average Americans expressed concern that the rush to gain more wealth would cause people to lose out on being human. Although the period after the Civil War generally resulted in a better economy due to the minimal political restrictions on businesses, the American public was largely unhappy with their situation compared to the rich industrialists.

During

the Second Industrial Revolution, Americans witnessed a boom in technological advancements, catapulting their country into becoming a world power. Immigrants flocked to the United States in hopes of a better life. After all, the nation’s growth led to all workers earning more. Because of industry, it became easier to transport growth through an expansive railroad system. Consequently, the food prices fell from an index of around 125 to 50 from the end of the Civil War to the turn of the new century, which is a 60% decrease (Doc. A). This statistic seemingly supports the claim that Andrew Carnegie, one of the industrial juggernauts, made in order to persuade the public to favor his actions. According to Carnegie, someone of his social status should become a “trustee for his poorer brethren, bringing to their service his superior wisdom, experience, and ability to administer” (Doc. E). In fact, he did live up to his claim that being rich would allow him to benefit the community. People, including Carnegie and Rockefeller, donated vast sums of money to charity. However, as much as the American public had gained from the work of the rich, there were still critics of the entrepreneurs’ beliefs.
Although Andrew Carnegie sought to make his image into one that highlights his work for the better good, he acted in ways that would seem to be unjust to his workers. During the Homestead Strike, he knew and supported Frick’s suppression of a union by locking out union members while bringing in strikebreakers in order to ensure that workers are paid less to maximize profits for the company. However, because the government at the time supported big businesses due to their effect on the economy’s growth, militia members were sent to put an end to the strike. This was not the only time the government sided with industry over workers. During the Pullman Strike, mail was halted due to workers boycotting the company. Lawyers for President Cleveland said that the employees were violating the Sherman Antitrust Act by controlling all the labor, which contradicted the document’s original purpose of restricting businesses. Because of the continual display of government acquiescence to corporations, the public began to speculate whether there was something going on behind closed doors. One political cartoonist, Joseph Keppler, illustrated the dominating presence of big businesses over the government, barring the average man from participating in politics through the closing of the “people’s entrance” (Doc. D). The personification of business trusts, like Standard Oil, captures the artist’s distaste for indulgent corporations as he tries to show average Americans that something must be done in order to return the country into one ruled by the people.
With politicians’ general support of industry, workers were persistent in fending for themselves. Unions were created, often to mixed reception. While the public was usually sympathetic to workers, unions were quite polarizing. Some groups, like the Industrial Workers of the World, were seen as too forceful. The IWW had ties with anarchists and socialists, who seemed to threaten the American way of life. In particular, the Haymaker Incident made the public weary of anarchists due to one of them throwing a bomb at the police. However, other unions were more moderate. The American Federation of Labor championed eight-hour workdays, the practice of which is now a staple in American jobs today, all while supporting the capitalist system of America. Samuel Gompers, one of the founding members of the AFL, recognized that “the lives and limbs of the wage-workers shall be regarded as sacred as those of all others of [their] fellow human beings” (Doc. G). In this speech to the International Labor Congress, he demands that people not look down upon his people for earning less than the rich. Similarly, other leaders of political groups sought a change in the system. The Populist Party rose due to farmers being unhappy of their situation. They wished for a bimetallism currency so that inflation would reduce their debts. This is opposite of the industrialists’ desire for a gold standard. These two groups were often at odds with each other. In particular, the populists saw the rich as having all the power, so their political platform rested upon “seek[ing] to restore the government of the Republic to the hands of ‘the plain people,’ with which class it originated” (Doc. F). They sought to restrict large corporations’ power by supporting labor movements and farmers.
Workers who were employed by big businesses were not the only people who saw the growing power of monopolies as a problem.

Many other Americans outside of politics were critical, as well. Economists were quick to point out the instability of rising businesses at the expense of common people. For example, David A. Wells, an engineer and economist, said that “[t]he modern manufacturing system has been brought into a condition analogous to that of a military organization” (Doc. C). Long gone are the days in which each American took pride for his individual accomplishments because he is now just another commodity. In fact, this vision of Americans as losing the human side of work was captured by pictures of workers performing mundane duties in one place. In 1902, a time in which rapid changes prompted women to start working, a picture was taken of many typists situated in one room (Doc. J). They all looked and dressed the same way, which supports the case of the deindividuation of common people in a country founded upon the principles of individualism. All the while, authors were eager to condemn this deviation of morals in a society based on rapid production and consumption. In Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie, the author presents a department store that has lead Carrie to feel “the claim of each trinket and valuable upon her personally” (Doc. I). Because the title of the story presents her as a “sister,” the scene highlights how the dazzling consumer culture has corrupted someone of faith into falling into the traps of materialism. Not only have workers suffered from the Gilded Age with their terrible pay and conditions, the greed of corporations have seeped into all parts of America in Dreiser’s

warning.
In a way, the Second Industrial Revolution mirrors the time period now, the Information Age. Just as there was a feeling of a loss of self then, there are many people who feel the same way today. Even though there are more regulations than there have been in the past in terms of hours worked or who can work, people often feel as if they are easily replaced. No other place is this more prominent than in the Silicon Valley. Technology firms are places of rapid change. People are often expected to keep up with this growth. While this is not unreasonable, many prejudices cloud the working process. For example, people, like Mark Zuckerberg, have been reported saying that younger workers are better than older ones, even if they had just turned 30. In other cases, older Google employees are nicknamed “Greyglers” at the age of 40, which can seem like an insult to some. As in the case of the Second Industrial Revolution, people are often reminded of how easily replaced they are. During the Homestead Strike, Frick proved that non-union workers could take over the jobs of union workers without any problems. Today, people send job applications by the hundreds, leaving older employees worried over being replaced by a more energetic and younger person who is willing to accept lower pay. In both time periods, successful entrepreneurs are idolized while the common worker cannot help but wonder whether he is just another commodity.
Looking back to the period after the Civil War, it is hard to determine whether the rise of industry was truly positive or negative. On one hand, rising businesses have caused the unification of the United States with oil and railroads, making the cost of goods cheaper. Because of the hard statistics on a growing economy or because of corruption, the government adopted a lax approach on managing rising monopolies, sometimes even going out of its way to support them. However, the dangers of monopolies were evident to many of the American people. Workers disliked the new American culture, in which no person was essential to a company’s work, and they were treated with little regard. Unions and the Populist Party arose from the conflicts between employee and employer. While they did not garner complete support from other workers in America, they made labor a prominent issue in the country. Many economists, authors, and artists sympathized with the working class, showing their distaste of a society that has decided to put aside the dignity of all human beings in favor for a profit.