During the Great Depression, even workers with employment often found themselves in desperate situations.
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Tag Archives: labor
Social Darwinism
Charles Darwin’s ideas of natural selection were applied by some to society, culture, and economics. This was often used to explain and justify economic and political inequalities.
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The Populist Movement
By the 1890s, a new political force emerged which attempted to combine the interests of rural, western farmers and the industrial laborers of the cities.
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Labor Unrest
During the 1890s, an unprecedented number of strikes and labor actions shook the United States. Few were bigger than the Pullman Strike of 1893. Below are two points of view from both George Pullman and the striking workers.
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The Triangle Fire
On March 25, 1911, a fire in the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in New York City killed 146 workers, mostly young women. The accounts of the survivors and witnesses, along with the unsafe conditions which prevented more of the workers from escaping the blaze helped fuel industrial safety regulations during the Progressive era.
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The Sadler Committee Report
The new factory manufacturing of the 19th century resulted in massive changes to the working lives of Europeans. Labor conditions were far more dangerous and strenuous than the traditional agricultural labor. In 1832, the UK Parliament held hearings (under David Sadler) to investigate abuses and concerns. Some excerpts from the testimony are below.
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A Changing Economy in the North: Life for Workers
During the mid-19th century, increasing industrialization created opportunities for young women to work in factories, including textile mills. This account addresses an 1836 labor strike by the women of a mill in Lowell, Massachusetts.