HIST-151 1st Edition Lecture 12 Outline of Last Lecture I. Chapter 19: “The City and its Workers 1870-1900” Outline of Current Lecture II. Chapter 19: “The City and its Workers 1870-1900”- Sweatshops and Child Labor- 1877’s Great Railroad Strike- Samuel Gompers and AFL- Knights of Labor- Haymarket Riot and Governor John Peter Atgeld- Nickelodeons and Coney IslandCurrent LectureSweatshops and Child Labor- Sweating, mania, chaos, noise, fear and hazardous conditions- Rooms in tenement buildings – seasonal work – 16-18 machines per room- Ran by immigrant women – young children normally sat at their feet until they were old enough to operate a machine themselves- 14-15 hours a day, 6 days a weeko Doors were locked from the outside and windows were made to be out of reach - Forced to work quickly – paid by garment made, not by the hour- Child labor – 1900 census accounted for 1,750,000 children (10-15 years old) o Comprised 18% of the workforce - Susceptible to communicable diseases – typhus, diphtheria, whooping cough- 1-5 will succumb to amputation or serious diseases- 100% of the 1,750,000 children would never have an educationo Further segregated themselves – detrimental 1877’s Great Railroad Strike- Summertime – workers of the B.O. Railroad walked off site in West Virginia - 100,000 workers walked off their jobs – wages had been garnished repeatedly, sufficient equipment was hardly available - Strike was forced to stop – 40 men killed, $2,000,000 worth of damage done- Returned to work only to be penalized more, wages garnished more to make up for lost time andto pay for damages caused by the riotsThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- Polarizing moment in American labor history – more strikes ensued, and Unions formedSamuel Gompers and AFL- Wanted to organize workers – Started American Federation of Labor- Took the most skilled and put them in the AFL to gather the lion-share of attention against the owners of companieso Only allowed in managers, foremen, and workers of high importance- When an important worker walks off site, it calls attention – Gompers’s intention- Only allowed around 150,000 to join the AFL- Would explode after the Haymarket Riot, with the Knights of Labor’s executives executed, the amount of members would jump from 150,000 in the 1880’s to 1,000,000 by 1900Knights of Labor- Allowed every type of worker in – around 800,000 – All were welcome who wanted a Union- Won’t make it out of the 1880’s – too lenient of a group, and many were killed in the mission to unionize societyHaymarket Riot and Governor John Peter Atgeld- Home of the McCormick Reaper Facility in Chicago, Illinoiso Summer of 1886- Workers wanted a Union, asked for assistance from Knights of Labor- Haymarket Square – a bomb detonated, killed police officers o No one knows who planted the bomb, or why – assumed it was planned by the Knights of Labor- A handful of the Knights of Labor are immediately charged, tried, found guilty and executedo 50% did not speak English, and 25% of the 50% were not even in Chicago during the incident- Governor Peter Atgeld asked where the evidence was – exonerated the remaining victims – let them go free- Would not be allowed to return to office – would be vilifiedNickelodeons and Coney Island- Nickelodeons were the first forms of entertainment via screeno Form of release, relief, and escapism- Showed audiences brief pictures for $0.05 - Reed organs played along with the viewing of the pictures to set a mood- Coney Island was the first outdoor amusement park – established in Manhattan, New Yorko “Low achieving Elitches”- Many foreigners learned American assimilation