Response to Prompt

Respond to the prompt:

"Explain why unions had little success during the period 1871-1900 in improving the economic and social position of U.S. workers."

 

      Unions had little success in improving the positions of U.S. workers because the Big Businesses were becoming too big and too powerful for the unions to take on. Strikes were the only true way to make a change to the treatment of workers; and therefore, going on strike was the most effective tactic of the Union Workers. However, this soon became one of the worst things to do because there were so many immigrants and cheap-laborers that once the normal workers had gone on strike, they were fired completely and the business gave their position to one of the immigrants. With their main tactic useless, the unions had little other choice but to go at the businesses politically. This was even more pointless than going on strike because many if not all of the most powerful people that the unions could turn to were being bribed by the businesses to give nothing to the unions. With political corruption and immigrants waiting to take the jobs of strikers, there was nothing that the unions could do for their members, making them ineffective during this time period.