Trade Union Movement

Prior to the Trade union Movement in the Post-Civil War era, America had just finished the Reconstruction period and was leading in Industrial output. Eventually the relationship
Between Government and Business took on two forms. State and Federal courts were used to prevent regulation of business and Trade Unions were suppressed. A trade Union is an organization of workers who have banned together to achieve common goals. During the Post-Civil War era trade unions agitated for change within the working environment in areas such as the wages they were receiving. The Trade Union movement was not a phenomenal success but it did have its success. Four major trade unions were The National Labor Union(NLU), The Knights of Labor, the American Federation of labor(AFL), and the Industrial Workers of the World(IWW).
The National Labor Union was formed right after the end of the Civil War. The NLU was the first Trade Union to organize workers regardless of there race, gender, or skills. This is to be considers one of the successes of the Trade Unions. Goals of the NLU were higher wages, shorter workdays, and gender and racial equality. During this time a ten hour work day was very common but the NLU was able to achieve its goal of the eight hour work day. After this union came to an end the Knights of Labor stepped up. The Knights of Labor was organized in 1869 and led by Terence Powderly. The Knight of Labor had a more radical approach but often very modest goals. The Knights of Labor did not believe in strikes but this did not stop some radical members from going on strike when the railroads cut wages in 1884. By this time the Knights of Labors members peaked at nearly three-quarters of a million but at the time of the Haymarket riots its members started to decline and the Knights of Labor came to an end in 1886.
Unlike the NLU and the Knights of Labor the American Federation of Labor was not out to change the world but sought to achieve what it considered more realistic and attainable goals(Epstein pg.206). The AFL was open only to skilled workers. Its president Samuel Gompers used the power of his membership(1 million) to win concessions from management. Which at this time was more successful than the other major unions. The AFL’s goals were centered around improvements to the immediate work environment such as better wages, hours, and working conditions.
Industrial Workers of the World leaned towards the more radical approach. Founded in 1905, they represented mainly unskilled workers. They were not satisfied with simply increasing work wages. They wanted ownership of the means of production by the working class. Within the IWW many workers used violent means while others were victimized by the government. Few Unions could match the view of labor and social agitation.
Although the Trade Union Movement was not a phenomenal success it did have its successes through the NLU, Knights of Labor, AFL, and IWW. Strikes often influences the actions of the trade unions and some were more radial than others. Others were prejudice in areas such as race or skill level and many of their goals were not accomplished in that time. Trade Unions were more successful in organizing their workers than achieving their goals.

"What They Fought For"

The first chapter in this book talks of the South’s fighting spirit. Many confederates fought for their freedom from the Union. Confederates had great pride and honor in their independence and often felt that they were being “enslaved” by the Yankees and were willing to die for their freedom. I found this to be hypocritical because the same thing that they felt the Yankees were doing to them is what they were doing to blacks.
While the south was fighting for their independence, the North fought to save the Union. Many Northerners stated that they were fighting to uphold the legacy of the American Revolution. They often viewed secession as a deadly challenge to the foundation of law and order on which all societies must rest if they are not to degenerate into an anarchy(pg.32). Yankees felt that their fight in the war was for a patriotic cause.
Since the issue of slavery divided both the North and the South, Lincoln came to the conclusion that the only way to end the war was to abolish slavery. Confederate soldiers often expressed in their letters that they were fighting for liberty and against slavery(pg.49). Not to mention that the slaves often fought in the war to gain their freedom.

The Civil War

Prior to the Civil War, there was the Age of Reform. The Age of Reform (also known as the Grass Roots movements) shaped and greatly affected the North. While intelligent, inspired idealist were changing the North for the Better the South remained untouched and unaware, leading to tension between the two. In order to know the nations history, you must first know the cause of the Civil War. Slavery caused the Civil War in many ways such as, the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska act.
The Missouri Compromise was put into place to balance out the free states and the slave states. Anything above the longitude 36 30 was a free state and anything below it was a slave state. This compromise helped to avert war for forty years. Even though war was averted the issue of slavery would soon rise again.
It just so happened that what everyone was fearing rose up in 1850. When free soil California came knocking on the door to be admitted into the Union, not wanting California to enter as a free state, “fire-eaters” in the South were voicing ominous threats of succession. Within the compromise of 1850 California became a free state and New Mexico and Utah were given popular sovereignty. After the compromise both the North and the South were determined that this should be a “final” and the explosive issue of slavery should be buried. But this placid period of reason proved all to brief.
The drastic new Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 stirred up a storm of opposition in the North. The Fugitive Slave Act stated that the government would return run away slaves free of charge. This law awakened a spirit of antagonism in the North against the South.
It was because of this new spirit that Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the famous novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” which also caused a lot of tension between the North and the South.
In 1854, Senator Stephen A. Douglas came up with the “brilliant” idea of extending a railroad from Illinois to Nebraska. In order to do so he would need the support of the south. He proposed the idea of cutting the Nebraska territory into the Kansas-Nebraska territory. Kansas and Nebraska were to be given popular sovereignty but the compromise of 1820 stood in their way. Since the Compromise forbid slavery above the sacred 36 30 line, the only way to open the reign to popular sovereignty was to repeal the ancient contract. By this time the North had come to regard the sectional compact as almost as sacred as the constitution itself and were not going to go down without a fight. The Kansas-Nebraska territory was one of the most momentous measures to pass congress and it greased the slippery slope to Civil War.
The Missouri Compromise of 1820, The compromise of 1850,and the Kansas-Nebraska Act, each played crucial roles in leading to the Civil War. The slavery question continued to churn the cauldron of controversy. Attitudes on both sides progressively hardened leading to the Civil war.