Social Darwinism, Terence Powderly, and Homestead, Pennsylvania

History of Labor
Part 1
1. Social Darwinism
In the late 19th and early 20th century, Darwinists believed in the survival of the fittest and subscribed to justifying conservatism, racism, and imperialism, among others. On the industrial front, employers instituted several measures to goad their employees into being more productive. In this regard, they began exerting more strictness on formal work rules through new management systems (Clark et al., 2000, chapter 1). In addition, they introduced sophisticated technological advancements to effectively control work progress. Equally critical, many industrial leaders employed corrupt and underhand means to solicit favors from politicians. Mostly, the industrial leaders sought government intervention to suppress workers' agitation for reforms by quelling strikes, sometimes violently. Most of them found it much easier to manipulate the federal government than state governments, resulting in the upsurge of federal injunctions. One of the most notable figures of social Darwinism was Andrew Carnegie. In his consuming bid to dominate his industry, he combined ruthless employee management and bold technological innovations. For instance, he designed elevated trains to carry coal overhead in Braddock, Pennsylvania. He became immensely dominant and formulated what he referred to as the gospel of wealth. Workers, on the other hand, crafted a prayer in his honor known as the Workman's Prayer.
2. Terence Powderly
The emancipation declaration by President Lincoln paved the way for further agitation to free workers from the clutches and domination of the labor market. The period was famously known as "reconstruction," which initiated a struggle to define the essence of freedom. A cocktail of promise and danger characterized that particular era as workers fought for freedom and people of class for dominance. One prominent movement that advanced the rights of workers was the Knights. In actual fact, the group founded in 1869 morphed into the first national labor organization in the 1880s (Gourevitch, 2020). Its most charismatic leader was Terence Powderly, who led the Knights for 15 years. Among other things, Powderly agitated racial solidarity among workers. For instance, during a Knight’s general assembly in 1886 in Richmond, Virginia, he deliberately allowed a black worker to introduce him (Gourevitch, 2020). Among many other functions of the Knight, it instigated workers to down their tools if their demands were not met. In 1887, for instance, the movement goaded black cane cutters to strike after their demands for higher wages hit a brick wall. Even though the strike ended disastrously, and with the massacre of striking workers, it set a monumental precedent on the industrial front. In summation, the Knights articulated their objectives through a language of freedom for workers.
3. Homestead, Pennsylvania
In 1892, one of the most famous workers’ strikes took place in Andrew Carnegie's steel mill in Homestead, Pennsylvania. Homestead was one of the most advanced mills in the world and offered comparatively higher wages to its employees. However, the workers consensually felt Carnegie needed to do more to improve their collective welfare. Therefore, in 1892, matters came...