OCR Specification focus:
‘New immigration and industrialisation reshaped work, conflict and organisation.’
Between 1865 and 1945, immigration and rapid industrialisation transformed the American workforce, reshaping labour relations, union growth, and social dynamics, profoundly influencing the development of trade union rights.
The Context of Immigration and Industrialisation
The period from the end of the American Civil War (1861–65) to the early twentieth century witnessed enormous economic and demographic change. The United States evolved from a predominantly agrarian society into the world’s leading industrial economy. This transformation, driven by technological advances and vast waves of immigration, redefined the nature of work and the development of trade unions.
The Industrial Revolution and the Growth of Industry
The late nineteenth century is often termed the Second Industrial Revolution, a period marked by the rise of new industries such as steel, oil, railroads, and textiles.
Technological innovations, including the Bessemer process for steel, mechanised textile production, and improved railway infrastructure, increased output and reduced costs.
Expansion of rail networks facilitated national markets and linked raw materials with urban manufacturing hubs.
Rapid urbanisation created new industrial cities such as Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Detroit.
This industrial transformation created vast new workforces concentrated in factories, mines, and mills, often under poor conditions and with limited legal protections.
The expansion of the railroad network integrated national markets, accelerated urban growth and allowed factories to source inputs and distribute outputs at unprecedented scale.
Colton’s 1870 railroad map depicts named lines and routes under construction across the United States. It visualises how transport infrastructure underpinned industrial growth and migration to industrial centres. Extra detail such as drainage and town names is included but remains secondary to the clearly marked railways. Source
Immigration and the Changing Workforce
Waves of Immigration
The United States experienced two major waves of immigration during this period:
Old Immigration (pre-1880): Predominantly from northern and western Europe (e.g., Britain, Germany, Ireland).
New Immigration (1880–1920): Largely from southern and eastern Europe (e.g., Italy, Poland, Russia) and significant numbers from Asia, particularly China.
By 1910, immigrants and their children made up the majority of the populations in many industrial cities.
Immigration: The movement of people into a country with the intention of permanent settlement, often driven by economic opportunity or political and religious freedom.
Impact on Labour Supply
The influx of millions of immigrants had several profound effects on the labour market:
Labour surplus: Employers could hire large numbers of unskilled workers at low wages, undermining existing workers’ bargaining power.
Ethnic division: Language and cultural barriers hampered collective action, weakening early attempts at unionisation.
Strikebreaking: Employers often used immigrant workers as strikebreakers, exacerbating divisions and undermining labour solidarity.
While immigration provided essential manpower for industrial growth, it also created labour competition, social tension, and hostility from native-born workers.
At Ellis Island, federal officials conducted rapid medical and legal inspections—most famously the eye exam for trachoma—to determine admissibility.
U.S. Public Health Service doctors inspect immigrants’ eyes at Ellis Island, a routine check for contagious disease. The image conveys the speed and selectivity of medical triage. It aligns with the notes’ emphasis on gatekeeping in mass immigration. Source
Early Labour Organisation and Challenges
Fragmentation and the Nature of Work
Industrialisation reshaped work from skilled, artisanal production to factory-based mass production. Many traditional crafts declined, and unskilled labour became increasingly central.
Skilled workers often resisted organising alongside unskilled workers.
Ethnic and racial divisions further fragmented potential solidarity.
Employers maintained strong control through blacklisting, lockouts, and the use of private security forces.
The Knights of Labor
Founded in 1869, the Knights of Labor (KoL) was one of the first national labour organisations to attempt to unify workers across skill levels, genders, and races.
Advocated an eight-hour day, equal pay, and the end of child labour.
Attracted rapid growth in the 1880s, peaking at around 700,000 members.
Declined after the Haymarket Affair (1886), which linked unions with violence and radicalism in public opinion.
The American Federation of Labor (AFL)
The AFL, founded in 1886 under Samuel Gompers, marked a shift towards craft unionism, focusing on skilled workers and “bread-and-butter” issues such as wages and hours.
Sought incremental improvements through collective bargaining and negotiation.
Less radical than the KoL, but criticised for excluding unskilled workers, women, and many immigrants.
Industrialisation and Labour Conflict
The vast industrial enterprises created new concentrations of economic power, often leading to major confrontations between labour and capital. Key episodes illustrate the tensions of the era:
Major Strikes and Confrontations
Great Railroad Strike (1877): Triggered by wage cuts during economic depression; suppressed by federal troops, demonstrating government alignment with business.
Homestead Strike (1892): A violent clash at Carnegie Steel, showing the lengths employers would go to resist unionisation.
Pullman Strike (1894): A nationwide railway strike crushed by federal intervention, setting a precedent for state opposition to labour.
Industrial conflict peaked with the Homestead Strike (1892), when Carnegie Steel used Pinkerton agents and state militia to defeat unionists.
This 1892 engraving shows crowds confronting armed forces during the Homestead Strike. It captures the escalation from bargaining to violence and the limits of union power in heavy industry. The image includes period details beyond the syllabus (e.g., magazine layout context) but directly illustrates the event’s dynamics. Source
The Role of Immigration in Labour Activism
Immigrants were not only a source of division but also central to labour militancy:
Many brought traditions of socialist and anarchist organising from Europe.
Immigrant workers played key roles in founding unions and leading strikes, particularly in industries like textiles, steel, and mining.
Leaders such as Eugene V. Debs (American Railway Union) and “Mother” Jones mobilised diverse workforces, bridging some ethnic divides.
However, nativist attitudes and xenophobia often portrayed immigrant-led unions as radical threats, justifying repression.
Industrial Capitalism and Employer Resistance
Industrialists developed sophisticated strategies to undermine unions:
Company towns and payment in scrip kept workers economically dependent.
Yellow-dog contracts forced workers to renounce union membership.
Strikebreakers and private security agencies like the Pinkertons were used to disrupt industrial action.
Employers also lobbied courts and governments to use injunctions against strikes, reinforcing the legal disadvantages unions faced.
Broader Social and Political Impact
Industrialisation and immigration transformed not just the workforce but American society:
Urbanisation created crowded industrial cities with new social challenges, from housing to public health.
Political machines often courted immigrant votes, shaping labour politics.
Progressive reformers in the early twentieth century sought to regulate working conditions, culminating in measures like the Clayton Antitrust Act (1914), which offered limited protections for unions.
Despite continued challenges, by the early twentieth century, trade unions had become a permanent fixture in American industrial society, setting the stage for further developments during the New Deal era.
FAQ
Unions used several strategies to build solidarity across diverse immigrant communities. They often published multilingual leaflets and newspapers to communicate their aims. Meetings and speeches were translated into multiple languages, and organisers from the same ethnic backgrounds were recruited to build trust.
Some unions, particularly the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), deliberately embraced inclusivity by rejecting craft divisions and organising all workers, regardless of nationality or skill. Despite these efforts, divisions persisted, and many unions, like the AFL, continued to focus primarily on native-born and skilled workers.
Women, though often excluded from mainstream unions, were vital in many labour struggles. They organised strikes in industries dominated by female workers, such as textiles and garment manufacturing.
Notable examples include the 1909 “Uprising of the 20,000” garment workers’ strike in New York, led largely by immigrant women. Organisations like the Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL) supported unionisation efforts and campaigned for protective labour laws. Women’s activism highlighted the gendered dimensions of labour rights and challenged the male-dominated trade union movement.
Employers argued that unions were disruptive to business efficiency and threatened the principles of free enterprise. They claimed collective action undermined individual freedom by coercing workers into membership or strikes.
Many industrialists associated unions with radicalism and socialism, portraying them as threats to social order and property rights. Employers also justified resistance by arguing that market forces, not collective bargaining, should determine wages and conditions. These arguments helped gain public and political support for anti-union measures, such as court injunctions and police intervention in strikes.
Immigration policies were closely tied to labour needs. During rapid industrial growth in the late 19th century, the U.S. maintained relatively open immigration policies to supply factories with cheap labour.
However, as union pressure and xenophobia grew, restrictive measures emerged. The Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) banned Chinese labourers, and later laws introduced literacy tests and national quotas, reflecting concerns about cultural assimilation and labour competition. These policies demonstrate how economic priorities and social tensions shaped immigration legislation during industrialisation.
Company towns were settlements owned by industrial employers, providing housing, shops, and services for workers. While they could offer convenience and stability, they often deepened worker dependency.
Employers paid wages in “scrip,” redeemable only at company stores, limiting economic freedom. Surveillance and control over housing allowed companies to discipline or evict union activists easily. These practices weakened collective bargaining and reinforced employer dominance, making union organisation more difficult until broader labour protections emerged in the 20th century.
Practice Questions
Question 1 (2 marks)
Identify two ways in which immigration affected the growth of trade unions in the United States between 1865 and 1920.
Mark scheme:
1 mark for each valid point, up to 2 marks total.
Possible answers:Immigration increased the supply of cheap, unskilled labour, weakening workers’ bargaining power. (1 mark)
Language and cultural divisions among immigrant workers made union organisation more difficult. (1 mark)
Employers used immigrant workers as strikebreakers, undermining strikes and union strength. (1 mark)
Immigrants brought traditions of socialist and anarchist activism, influencing union movements. (1 mark)
Question 2 (5 marks)
Explain how industrialisation changed the nature of work and trade union organisation in the period 1865–1920.
Mark scheme:
Award up to 5 marks.
1–2 marks: Basic description of industrialisation with limited explanation of its effects on work or unions.
3–4 marks: Clear explanation of at least two significant changes caused by industrialisation, with some detail and examples.
5 marks: Developed explanation of multiple changes with supporting detail and clear linkage to union organisation.
Indicative content:
Industrialisation shifted work from artisanal production to factory-based mass production, increasing the number of unskilled workers. (1–2 marks)
The growth of large-scale industries concentrated workers in urban centres, enabling collective action and union formation. (1 mark)
Harsh working conditions and low wages spurred union demands for shorter hours and better pay. (1 mark)
New industrial conditions encouraged the rise of national unions like the Knights of Labor and the AFL, which adapted different strategies to represent workers. (1 mark)
Employer resistance and state intervention in industrial disputes shaped union tactics and limited their effectiveness. (1 mark)
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