Presentation Transcript

1. The Socialist Challenge

   By: Gabriela Portillo Professor Buelna ChS 245 ol - 14004
2. “There were writers of the early twentieth century who spoke for socialism or criticized the capitalist system harshly- not obscure pamphleteers, but among the most famous of American literary figures, whose books were read by millions: Upton Sinclair, Jack London, Theodore Dreiser, Frank Norris.”(Zinn 322).
3. Upton Sinclair His novel The Jungle exposed conditions in Chicago meatpacking plants This made people demand laws which would enforce and help maintain the meat industry His novel also brought about issues of socialism by integrating a story of an immigrant laborer by the name of JurgisRudkus His influence for this book came by Jack London’s book People of the Abyss Jack London Jack London was part of the Socialist party Wrote a novel called The Iron Heel , where he warned that America would become a fascist country He wrote “In the face of the facts that modern man lives more wretchedly than the cave man, and that his producing power is a thousand times greater than that of the cave man, no other conclusion is possible than that the capitalist class has mismanaged… criminally and selfishly mismanaged”(Zinn 322).
4. “By 1900 , neither the patriotism of the war nor the absorption of energy in elections could disguise the troubles of the system. The process of business concentration had gone forward; the control by bankers had become more clear. As technology developed and corporations became larger, they needed more capital, and it was the bankers who had this capital”(Zinn 323). There were already more than a thousand railroads that were affiliated with Morgan or Rockefeller interests by 1904. “The imperial leader of the new oligarchy was the House of Morgan. In its operations it was able assisted by the First National Bank of New York(directed by GeorgeF. Baker) and the National City Bank of New York (presided over by James Stillman, agent of the Rockefeller interests). Among them, these three men and their financial associates occupied 341 directorships in 112 great corporations. The total resources of these corporations in 1912 was $22,245,000,000, more than the assessed value of all property in the twenty-two states and territories west of the Mississippi River.”(Zinn 323). In 1907, profits that the capitalist wanted were not as high due to a crisis that happened, where big businesses were not hurt but the industry wasn’t growing as big and fast as they wanted. This meant that industrialists had to cut costs however they could.
5. One idea that they tried to implement was Taylorism TAYLORISM: is the belief that everyone has free will “The purpose of Taylorism was to make workers interchangeable, able to do the simple tasks that the new division of labor required- like standard parts divested of individuality and humanity, bought and sold as commodities”(Zinn 324). This new system worked well with the automobile industry “In 1909, Ford sold 10, 607 autos; in 1913, 168,000; in 1914, 248,000. The profit was $30 million”(Zinn 324). Taylorism also became more effective because of the amount of unskilled jobs and workers, many of who were immigrants and who were also willing to work under any circumstances as long as they were able to be able to provide food for their families In New York City, the new immigrants went to work in the sweatshops “In unaired rooms, mothers and fathers sew by day and by night. Those in the home sweatshop must work cheaper than those in the factory sweatshops… And the children are called in from play to drive and drudge beside their elders…”(Zinn 324).
6. Sadly, sweatshops still exist today and many of the brands that we wear like Nike, Old Navy, and JC Penny, still use sweatshops and most of us aren’t aware of it.
7. There were many strikes that followed after workers united to fight for better working conditions and higher pay. Many women, men , and children were part of these strikes and although they started striking, they never knew that the road for equality, would be a difficult and brutal one. One of these strikers was a woman by the name of Pauline Newman who describes a strike she was a part of: “Thousands upon thousands left the factories from every side, all of them walking down toward Union Square. It was November, the cold winter was just around the corner, we had no fur coats to keep warm, and yet there was the spirit that led us on and on until we got to some hall. I can see the young people, mostly women, walking down and not caring what might happen… the hunger, cold, loneliness… They just didn’t care on that particular day; that was their day”(Zinn 325). This comes to show that although they kept in minds that they might lose their jobs, they went without fear, showing courage that no matter what, they were going to fight for what they believed in.
8. Many workers would strike out everyday and many women in particular , would join the International Ladies Garment Workers Union Women of color also were part of strikes and made up the labor unions as well Women also tried everything they could to empower themselves and support each other Pauline Newman states ,“We tried to educate ourselves . I would invite girls to my rooms, and we took turns reading poetry in English to improve our understanding of the language. One of our favorites was Thomas Hood’s “Song of the Shirt,” and another… Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Mask of Anarchy”(Zinn 326). Women were showing that they didn’t need to be dependent on anybody and that with each of them supporting each other, they would be able to progress and become more able to communicate what it was that they wanted
9. Aside from working under terrible working conditions, workers also worked in work places where the buildings were not up to code, and were therefore dangerous to be in There was a fire on March 25, 1911, where rag burned and engulfed the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors in flames There were about 500,000 workers were burned and died since the firefighters’ ladders could only reach up to the seventh floor “The laws said factory doors had to open outward. But at the Triangle Company the doors opened in. The law said the doors could not be locked during working hours, but at the Triangle Company doors were usually locked so the company could keep track of the employees. And so, trapped, the young women were burned to death at their work-tables, or jammed against the locked exit door, or leaped to their deaths down the elevator shafts”(Zinn 326). 35,000 workers were killed in industrial accidents and 700,000 were injured according to a report of the Commission on Industrial Relations
10. Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire March 25, 1911
11. Unions were strongly growing and the members of the unions soon were growing with more men, and people of color integrating The IWW ( Industrial Workers of the World) was formed which aimed at organizing all workers in any industry into “One Big Union,” undivided by sex, race, or skills.” People in this organization were vey brave and didn’t believe that violence would solve anything but if they were attacked, they wouldn’t back down from a fight. The IWW eventually became a threat to the capitalist class Authorities even implemented laws to keep them from speaking and they didn’t obey the laws
12. Finally, after much striking and speaking out on issues that they wanted to be fixed, workers were offered raises of as much as 5-11 percent, time and quarter for overtime, and no discrimination against those who had struck. Their raises were given by the American Woolen Company.
13. The road to being able too get higher pay for the labor that workers were doing, was a very long one, but eventually after being motivated and not giving up, they were able to demonstrate that no matter what, they were not going to give up.
14. Reference Page Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States. Harper Collins Publishers, 1999. Print.