Workers organize: unions, strikes and new labor laws

Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Three groups and the Pullman strike. Card A: "Three groups, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The Knights of Labor began in Philadelphia in 1869, led at first by Uriah Stephens. It welcomed workers of many trades, and by 1886 it had about 700,000 members. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was organized in December 1886 at Columbus, Ohio, by national unions that each spoke for one trade. Samuel Gompers was its first president. The American Railway Union formed in Chicago in June 1893, with Eugene Debs as president. It was open to white railroad workers of any job. Card B: "The Pullman strike of 1894, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Workers at the Pullman Company near Chicago struck on May 11, 1894. The American Railway Union, led by Eugene Debs, then refused to handle Pullman cars, which slowed railroad traffic across the country. The government won an injunction against the boycott. It said the boycott threatened trade between the states and the delivery of the mail, and it cited the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. Federal marshals and troops were sent to the Chicago area. Debs and other union leaders were charged with contempt of court, and Debs was jailed in 1895. On July 12 the AFL voted not to back a general strike, because it believed the strike was already lost. The injunction affirmed a broad federal power over trade between the states, which made national strikes very hard to carry out.

2. 1.

   The ARU was open to railroad workers of any job. Why did that matter in the 1894 boycott, Bo asks?

   • Open membership made the ARU larger than the AFL, which is why the boycott could reach many railroads.
   • Open membership let the ARU win the strike, since more members meant stronger pressure on owners.
   • Members in any rail job could refuse to handle Pullman cars, so traffic slowed nationwide.
   • The ARU was a union of Pullman car makers, so its members built the cars.
3. 2.

   The AFL was organized by national unions that each spoke for one trade. Using card B, why did the AFL decline to back the strike, Esme asks?

   • It had no railroad members, since each AFL union spoke for one trade.
   • It feared losing members to the Knights, which card B gives as the reason for its vote.
   • It said the strike was already lost; its structure may matter, though no card says so.
   • It opposed strikes in general, since it voted against a general strike on July 12, card B says.

4. Use this

   The first federal child labor law (cards A and B). Card A: "The first federal child labor law". Who made it: Congress, in the Keating-Owen Act. When: September 1, 1916. Where: Washington. For whom: producers, manufacturers, dealers and the courts. Why: to stop the shipping of goods made by young children. Excerpt (Act of September 1, 1916, section 1; United States Statutes at Large vol. 39, 1916, 39 Stat. 675): "That no producer, manufacturer, or dealer shall ship or deliver for shipment in interstate or foreign commerce any article or commodity [product] the product of any mine or quarry, situated in the United States, in which within thirty days prior to the time of the removal of such product therefrom children under the age of sixteen years have been employed or permitted to work, or any article or commodity the product of any mill, cannery, workshop, factory, or manufacturing establishment, situated in the United States, in which within thirty days prior to the removal of such product therefrom children under the age of fourteen years have been employed or permitted to work…" Card B: "Four steps in federal child labor law, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The Keating-Owen Act, signed on September 1, 1916, barred the shipping between states of goods from mines and quarries that used children under 16, and of goods from mills, canneries, workshops and factories that used children under 14. It was to take effect one year later. On June 3, 1918, the Supreme Court struck it down in Hammer v. Dagenhart; four justices dissented. The Fair Labor Standards Act, signed on June 25, 1938, set a minimum wage of 25 cents an hour and a 44-hour week for covered workers and banned oppressive child labor, but its wage and hour rules did not apply to farm employees, and it covered industries that employed about one-fifth of the labor force. On February 3, 1941, in United States v. Darby, the Court upheld the act and overruled Hammer v. Dagenhart.

5. 3.

   A made-up factory used a 13-year-old last year but none in the 30 days before shipping. Under card A, are its goods barred, Kira asks?

   • Yes: the age limit for factories is 16, and 13 is below it, so the goods are barred.
   • No: the law looks at children employed within thirty days before the goods were removed.
   • Yes: a 13-year-old is under 14, and the law bars goods from any factory that ever used one.
   • No: the law covers mines and quarries, not factories, so the goods can ship.
6. 4.

   A student says Keating-Owen protected children from 1916 to 1918. What is wrong with that, Luz asks?

   • It was in force from 1916, since signing makes a law effective at once for goods already made.
   • It covered every worker under 16, so it protected children on farms and in shops across the country.
   • It took effect a year after signing, so it was in force about nine months, and for shipped goods only.
   • It was in force two years, since the Court needed two years to decide Hammer v. Dagenhart.

7. Use this

   Union membership, 1900 to 1920. Card A: "Union membership, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The Census Bureau's Historical Statistics list union membership from 1897 on. They give the total membership and the membership of unions that belonged to the AFL, in thousands. The numbers include Canadian members of unions with headquarters in the United States. Card B: Table "Union membership, 1900, 1910 and 1920", columns Year | AFL members (thousands) | All union members (thousands): 1900 | 548 | 791; 1910 | 1,562 | 2,116; 1920 | 4,079 | 5,034. Data: US Census Bureau, Historical Statistics of the United States (1975), series D 940-945 (Bureau of Labor Statistics counts). The counts include Canadian members of unions with headquarters in the United States.

8. 5.

   A student says AFL membership grew about sevenfold from 1900 to 1920, so unions as a whole did too. Is that fair, Milo asks?

   • Yes, since the AFL was most of the movement, so its growth was the movement's growth.
   • Yes, since both counts include Canadian members, so any distortion cancels out.
   • The AFL grew about 7.4 times and all unions about 6.4, so the AFL grew faster.
   • No, since the other unions shrank, which is how the AFL's share rose.
9. 6.

   The AFL's share of all union members rose from 69 to 81 percent. A student concludes the other unions shrank. Is that supported, Noah asks?

   • Yes, since the non-AFL share fell from about 31 to 19 percent, a clear loss for the other unions.
   • No: non-AFL membership rose from 243 to 955 thousand; the AFL just grew faster.
   • Yes, since the AFL added 3,531 thousand members, more than the whole non-AFL group added.
   • No, since the table gives no figures for the other unions, so no conclusion can be reached.
10. 7.

    A student writes: "American unions had 5,034 thousand members in 1920." What does card A let Pia say?

    • The figure is exact, since the Bureau of Labor Statistics counted each member.
    • The figure includes Canadian members of US-based unions, so it overstates American members.
    • The figure counts members in 1920 who joined that year alone, since it is a yearly count.
    • The figure leaves out unions outside the AFL, so it understates the whole movement.

11. Use this

    Mother Jones and child labor. Card A: "Mother Jones on the march of the mill children". Who made it: Mary Harris Jones, called Mother Jones. When: written 1925, about 1903. Where: Chicago. For whom: readers of her autobiography. Why: to tell why she led the children's march. Excerpt (Autobiography of Mother Jones, chapter on the march of the mill children; Autobiography of Mother Jones, 1925, pp. 73-74): "These little children were striking for some of the freedom that childhood ought to have, and I decided that the children and I would go on a tour. … We carried banners that said, “We want more schools and less hospitals.” “We want time to play.” … We started from Philadelphia where we held a great mass meeting. I decided to go with the children to see President Roosevelt to ask him to have Congress pass a law prohibiting the exploitation of childhood." Card B: "Child labor to 1912, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The Census counted gainful workers aged 10 to 15: 1,750 thousand in 1900. Reformers founded the National Child Labor Committee in 1904, and Congress gave it a charter in 1907. Lewis Hine, a photographer, took pictures of children at work in mines, mills, canneries and streets for the committee and wrote down facts about each child. Hine's photographs are not shown here. In 1912 the federal government set up the Children's Bureau to gather facts about children.

12. 8.

    Card A was written in 1925 about a march of about 1903. How should Ren use it?

    • As proof that the march caused the 1916 law, since she asked for a law to be passed.
    • As worthless, since an autobiography written years later cannot be trusted.
    • As her own later account of why she led the march, so details need a second source.
    • As a record made on the march, since she describes banners and a mass meeting.
13. 9.

    Card A says Mother Jones marched to ask President Roosevelt for a law. Card B says what happened by 1912. What can Tala say about the march?

    • The march asked for a federal law, but card B shows none by 1912, only a bureau to gather facts.
    • The march led to the National Child Labor Committee, which card B dates to 1904, so the march came first.
    • The march won a federal law, since card B lists the Children's Bureau among its results.
    • The march was ignored, since card B gives no federal law before 1916 on its list.

14. Use this

    Coal and railroads in West Virginia. Card A: "Coal and railroads in West Virginia, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: West Virginia. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Railroads and coal mines changed West Virginia after the Civil War. The population of the southern coalfield rose from 93,000 in 1880 to 446,000 in 1920. The railroad strike of 1877 began at Martinsburg. In the 1900s the United Mine Workers of America struggled to organize the coalfields, and union organizers such as Mother Jones worked in the Kanawha Valley.

15. 10.

    A student says the southern coalfield's population quintupled from 93,000 in 1880 to 446,000 in 1920. Is that fair, Zee asks?

    • Yes: quintupled means a rise of 500 percent, which is what the card gives for the coalfield.
    • No: the rise was about 79 percent, found by dividing the gain of 353,000 by the 1920 count.
    • No: the card gives the 1877 strike at Martinsburg, not the population, so no claim can be made.
    • Nearly: about 4.8 times, a rise of about 380 percent, tied by the card to railroads and coal.