How did the Knights of Labor change as a result of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 quizlet?

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Terms in this set (65)

- during this time period, America was in one of the worst economic depressions ever which caused railroad companies to reduce wages of their workers
- a strike that started on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia
- in response to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad cutting wages of laborers for the third time within the year
- due to wage cuts, strikers decided to retaliate and express their anger by not allowing trains, mainly freight trains, to roll until this wage cut was revoked
- rathern than getting an increased wage, there were several deaths
- by the end of August, the striked ended mainly due to federal government intervention, the use of state militias, and the employment of strikebreakers by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company
- the availability of laborers and government support for businesses limited workers' ability to gain concessions from their employers
- first general strike within 10 states to mobilize 60,000 militia members to reopen trail traffic
- served as a turning point for the American labor movement; lead to a new era in labor justice and increased the popularity of unions (ex: Knights of Labor - a group that accepted men, women, and workers of all skill levels)

- Charles Darwin, a British naturalist, published his theory of evolution based off of natural selection in 1859, and called it "The Origin of Species"; it started becoming popular with scientists in the 1870s and challenged various religious, political, and social principles of citizens.
- The phrase "survival of the fittest" became popular and displayed Americans' superiority with economic successes in the Gilded Age.
- Social degeneration came from private charities and state welfare.
- These ideas were integrated by Herbet Spencer, a biologist and sociologist, who felt that the "best" were those with the most economic wealth.
- Social Darwinism, a natural order that extended among all species were governed with competition of survival, however spread among wealthy Americans.
- Supporters of this were elites such as Carnegie, Edison, and Rockefeller.
- With such great competition in society, Social Darwinsim caused a barrier between believers and nonbelievers, and left many with a perfectionist mentality.

- an economic and social system in the late 19th century in which trade, industry, and capital were privately controlled and operated for profit.
- Its emergence was reasoned in purposes of promoting economic efficiency by depending on pervasive mechanization and industrialization, and it was a system that had proved wildly effective and helpful in Europe.
- industrial capitalism became a massive aspect of American society as it grew into an enormous pull factor for immigrants, hoping to make money, coming into the U.S. from between 1880 and 1920.
- With the significant increase in immigrant labor of producing steel, textiles, and food, American civilization, especially the cities began experiencing rapid growth.
- These changes introduced a new dynamic to the economy, significantly transforming the social and physical landscape of the U.S.

- In 1888, Edward Bellamy released the utopian novel titled Looking Backward, where the protagonist, Julian West falls asleep in the 19th century, and wakes up 100 years later, to see that America had been transformed to a utopian socialist society.
- After having a nightmare where he was transported back to the Gilded Age, West is reminded of the capitalist system he was born into, and the economic struggles that came along with it, which further reinforced his support for socialism, and the utopia it created.
- Looking Backward quickly became the third best selling book of the 19th century, and the national popularity of the novel further convinced Americans of the issues with the current economic system, and capitalism as a whole.
- This growing fear led to an increasing number of Americans to abandon the Democratic and Republican party, and to join the Populist Party, who specifically looked to target these deep-rooted economic issues.

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