The Labor History History Essay Research Paper Coursework

Labor History
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Labor History
The late 1800’s was a tough period for the American economy. Clark and Hewitt (2000) states, “The bankruptcy of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and National Cordage (a group of rope manufacturers) in the first half of 1893 set off a stock market crash, a run on gold and a banking panic” (p. 126). The railroads were what spearheaded the economy’s growth. The bankruptcy then nudged the American economy into its great depression. In the following years, banks, businesses, and other railroad companies were also declared bankrupt. The impact would also be felt in other industries such as the agricultural economy. As millions fell into poverty and starvation, organizations came up demanding the government to create jobs for the unemployed and offer better wages and work conditions for the employee. These demands inspired a shift in the labor sector that would come to completion in 1930 (Clark & Hewitt, 2000). The push was through unions that would fight for the workers’ rights and political organizations that would amend the law in favor of the workers. Employers and the government fought these reforms, making progress for the unions slow. The paper looks into the major efforts made to improve the work environment and the reasons why the government resisted.
Farmers Alliance
In the late nineteenth century, farmers came together with a goal of defending their interests against their employers and the banking elite. The number of farmers without their farm was on the rise while independent farmers were going into debt thanks to the onerous loan terms and high-interest rates they got from the banking system. The events upset the agricultural labor force as it only made their lives more difficult.
The Farmers Alliance was formed in Texas in 1876. The alliance had a main agenda of abolishing the crop-lien system (Clark & Hewitt, 2000). The crop-lien system operated among the landless farmers and shareholders in the south; the cotton-growing region. The farmers who did not have their piece of land would take out loans that would aid in getting seeds, tools, and farming supplies. The loan would then be repaid after the harvest. Farmers would have to pay back in the form of cotton crops that they harvested. During seasons when the cotton prices were low, the farmers would often go home empty-handed after their crop was collected.
Other groups also came up to fight for the nation’s agrarian workforce. In 1868, the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, in short Grange, was established in New York to advocate for the rural workforce. Membership was high once Grange was well planted across the country.
The Populist Party
Clark and Hewitt (2000) relate the origin of the Populist Party to the Farmer’s Alliance. They state, “The Populists originated in the cooperative crusade of the Farmer’s Alliance” (p. 134). It was also referred to as the People’s Party, or merely the populists. The political party was formed with an intent to represent the agricultural workforce. The Farmers Alliance heavily influenced the People'...