Essay On Child Labor In The 1800s

Workers of the late 1800’s were overworked and underpaid and the amount of wageworkers tripled. Their ages ranging from children to adults and of all different skills and levels. The basic laborer were the most common type of workers. They are the ones that dug holes and helped build many of America’s first subways, railroads, bridges and buildings. Many were immigrants and would work for next to nothing running from the poor house and trying to scrape out a meager existence in their new world. Child labor was on the rise and it continued to rise until World War I. Woman were entering the workforce at a rapid increase and after the civil war many businesses were starting to expand giving way to the need for typewriters and salesclerks. …show more content…
Banks foreclosed on nearly half of farms in Kansas by 1894. Banks where situated on the east coast and railroads charged the farmers an exurban amount to haul their corps to market. The famers banded together to form the Farmer’s Alliance to fight of land sharks and horse thieves. Many formed cooperatives to group their corps together to get more money. Unfortunately, many cooperatives couldn’t get credit due to opposition from banks, merchants, bankers, wholesaler and manufacturers. The farmers wanted to create a third political party to insure that they could have political support. In 1892, the People’s Party was launched and the Populist movement began. The populist built on the work of the alliance and trying to help farmers get the credit they needed at reasonable rate. Throughout the nation groups of labors were struggling and many were starting to tire of the constant struggle. Strikes were in full force in the beginning of the 1890’s. It got so fierce that is was known as the Labor Wars. Many businesses combined to make corporations, but the workers joined unions and workers fought for better wages, working conditions, and shorter hours. Workers decided to come together and fight against Andrew Carnegie in the steel