NEW ENGLAND ASSOCIATION OF FARMERS,
MECHANICS AND OTHER WORKINGMEN

CHAPTER VI

RESULTS OF THE AWAKENING .

I, 302

I, 326

PART III. TRADE UNIONISM (1833-1839)

BY EDWARD B. MITTELMAN

I FIRST DATES ON WHICH TRADE SOCIE-

TIES APPEARED IN NEW YORK, BAL-

TIMORE, PHILADELPHIA, AND BOS-

TON, 1833-1837 .

II STRIKES, 1833-1837 .

I, 472

I, 478

PART IV. HUMANITARIANISM (1840-1860)
BY HENRY E. HOAGLAND

New Conditions. Railway construction, 3. Through-freight lines, 4.

Railway consolidations, 4. Appearance of the wholesale jobber, 5. The

first national trade unions, 5.

The Moulders. William H. Sylvis, 6. The effect of the extension of the

market on the moulder's trade, 6. The national union, 7. Its weakness, 7.

The Machinists and Blacksmiths. Evils in the trade, 8. The national

union, 9. Strike against the Baldwin Locomotive Works, 9. Outbreak

of the War depression, 9. Other national unions, 10.

Unemployment and Impending War. The workingmen's opposition to

war, 10. Louisville and Philadelphia, 10. Fort Sumter and labour's

change of attitude, 11.

CHAPTER II

THE WAR PERIOD, 1861-1865.

II, 13

War and Prices. The lethargy of the trade unions, 13. Legal ten-

der acts, 14. War prosperity and its beneficiaries, 14. Cost of living and

wages, 15.

The Labour Press. Fincher's Trades Review, 15. The Workingman's

Advocate, 16. The Daily Evening Voice, 16. Other papers, 17.

Local Unions. The incentive for organisation, 17. The wave of or-

ganisation during the war, 18.

The Trades' Assemblies. Progress of the trades' assemblies, 22. Strikes,

23. Functions of the trades' assemblies, 23. The Philadelphia trades'

assembly, a typical assembly, 24.

Employers' Associations. Local and national associations, 26. The

Employers' General Association of Michigan, 26. The reply of the trade

unions, 29. Richard F. Trevellick, 29. New York Masters Builders' Asso-

ciation, 29. Master Mechanics of Boston, 30. The associated employers

and the eight-hour movement of 1872, 31. The attempted exclusive agree

ment," 32. Attitude towards trade agreements, 33.

66

International Industrial Assembly of North America. The national

trade unions and federation, 33. The trades' assemblies and federation,

34. The Louisville call, 34. The convention in Louisville, 35. Assistance

during strikes, 36. Attitude towards co-operation and legislation, 37.

The constitution and the national trade unions, 37. Politics, 38. Causes

of failure, 38.

Distributive Co-operation. Cost of living, 39. Thomas Phillips, 39.

The Rochdale plan, 40. The turn towards productive co-operation, 41.

CHAPTER III

THE NATIONAL TRADE UNIONS, 1864-1873.

II, 42

Activities during

Causes and General Progress. Effect of the nationalisation of the mar-

ket, 43. National trade unions in thirties, 43. The effect of national

labour competition, 44. Effect of employers' associations, 44. Effect of

machinery and the division of labour, 44. Organisation of national trade

unions, 1861-1873, 45. Growth of their membership, 47. The national

trade union the paramount aspect of nationalisation, 48.

The Moulders. Epitomise the labour movement, 48.

the war, 48. Beginning of employers' associations, 49. Lull in the organ-

isation of employers during the period of prosperity, 49. West and

East, 50. American National Stove Manufacturers' and Iron Founders'

Association, 50. Apprenticeship question, 50. The strike in Albany and

Troy, 51. Withdrawal of the Buffalo and St. Louis foundrymen from

the Association, 51. The general strike against wage reductions, 51.

Defeat of the union, 52. Restriction on strikes by the national union,

52. Turn to co-operation, 53. Sylvis' view on the solution of the labour

question, 53. Co-operative shops, 53. The Troy shops, 54. Their busi-

ness success but failure as co-operative enterprises, 54. Disintegration

of the employers' association, 55. Revival of trade unionism, 55.

Machinists and Blacksmiths. The intellectual ascendency in the labour

movement, 56. Employers' associations, 56. Effect of the depression, 57.

Effect of the eight-hour agitation on the union, 57. Revival in 1870,

58.

Printers. The National Typographical Union, 58. "Conditional mem-

bership," 58. The national strike fund, 59. The persistent localist ten-

dency, 59. Northwestern Publishers' Association, 61.

Locomotive Engineers. The cause of nationalisation, 61. Piece work,

62. Brotherhood of the Footboard, 62. Brotherhood of Locomotive En-

gineers, 62. Charles Wilson and his attitude towards public opinion, 63.

Strike on the Michigan Southern, 64. The railway's blacklist, 64. The

brotherhood's attitude towards incorporation, 65. The brotherhood con-

servatism, 65. Discontent of the local branches, 66. Wilson's incorpora-

tion move, 66. Failure in Congress, 67. Growth of the opposition to

Wilson, 67. His removal from office, 67. P. M. Arthur, 67. The benefit

system, 68.

Cigar Makers. Effect of the war revenue law, 69. Growth of the

international union, 1864-1869, 70. The introduction of the mould, 71.

The strike against the mould, 72. The attitude towards the mould of the

conventions of 1867 and 1872, 72. Failure of the anti-mould policy, 73.

Coopers. Effect of the machine, 74. Martin A. Foran, 75. Career of the

International Coopers' Union, 75. Robert Schilling, 76. Co-operative at-

tempts, 76.

Knights of St. Crispin. The factory system, 76. "Green hands," 77.

Aim of the Crispins, 77. Crispin strikes, 78. Their principal causes, 78.

Attitude towards co-operation, 79.

Sons of Vulcan. The puddler's bargaining advantage, 80. The sliding

scale agreement, 80.

Restrictive Policies Apprenticeship. Beginning of restrictive policies, 81.

Effect of the wider market on apprenticeship, 81. Effect of the increased

scale of production, 81. "Botches," 82. Sylvis' view, 82. Limitation of

numbers, 82. Policies of the national trade unions, 83. Regulation of

apprenticeship in the printer's trade, 83.

The Labour Movement in Europe and America. Eight-hour ques-

tion, 87. Ira Steward and his wage theory, 87. Stewardism contrasted

with socialism, 90. Stewardism and trade-unionism, 91. Stewardism and

political action, 91. Boston Labor Reform Association, 91. Grand

Eight-Hour League of Massachusetts, 92. Massachusetts labour politics,

93.

Labour politics in Philadelphia, 93. Fincher's opposition to politics,

93. Return of the soldiers -
-a stimulus to the eight-hour movement, 94.

The question of national federation, 94. The move by trades' assemblies,

94. New York State Workingmen's Assembly, 95. The move by the na-

tional trade unions, 96. The compromise, 96.

Labour Congress of 1866. Representation, 96. Attitude toward trade

unionism and legislation, 98. The eight-hour question at the congress,

98. Resolution in political action, 99. The land question, 100. Co-

operation, 101. Form of organisation, 101.

Eight Hours and Politics. Congressional election of 1866, 102. In-

dependent politics outside Massachusetts, 103. Eight-hours before Con-

gress, 104. Eight-hours before President Johnson, 104. Eight-hours be-

fore the General Court of Massachusetts, 105. The special commission of

1865, 106. The commission of 1866, 107. E. H. Rogers, 107. Eight-hour

bills in other States, 108. Causes of the failure, 109.

Co-operation. Co-operative workshops, 111. Productive co-operation in

various trades, 111.

Labour Congress of 1867. Activity of the National Labor Union dur-

ing the year, 112. Address to the Workingmen of the United States, 113.

Viewpoint of the "producing classes," 114. Representation at the Con-

gress of 1867, 115. The constitution, 116. The immigrant question and

the American Emigrant Company, 117. The question of the Negro, 118.

Greenbackism. The popularity of greenbackism among the various ele-

ments at Labour Congress, 119. A. C. Cameron, 119. Alexander Camp-

bell, 120. The new Kelloggism," 121. Greenbackism contrasted with

socialism and anarchism, 121. Greenbackism as a remedy against de-

pressions, 122. "Declaration of Principles," 122. The depression, 1866-

1868, 123. Progress of co-operation, 124.

Eight Hours. Government employés and the eight-hour day, 124. The

Labour Congress of 1868, 125. The conference on the presidential elec-

tion, 125. Representation at the congress, 126. Women delegates, 127.

Discussion on greenbackism, 128. Discussion on strikes, 129. The first

lobbying committee, 130. Sylvis' presidency, 130.

The International Workingmen's Association. International regulation

of immigration, 131. Sylvis' attitude towards the International, 132.

Sylvis' death, 132. Cameron's mission to Basle, 132.

Labour Congress of 1869. Representation, 133. Effect of Sylvis' death,

134.

The Negroes. Invasion of industries, 134. Causes of their separate or-

ganisation, 135. Maryland State Coloured Labour Convention of 1869, 136.

Supremacy of the politicians, 137.

Politics in Massachusetts. New England Labour Reform League, 138.

American proudhonism and the intellectuals, 139. The Crispins and poli-

ties, 140. The State Labour Reform Convention, 140. The Crispins and

incorporation, 140. The State campaign of 1869, 141. Boston municipal

election, 142. Wendell Phillips and the State election of 1870, 143. The

end of labour politics in Massachusetts, 144.

Labour Congress of 1870. The Negro question, 144. Decision to call a

political convention, 145. Changes in the constitution, 146.

Chinese Exclusion. The industrial situation in California during the

sixties, 147. Early anti-Chinese movement in California, 147. The Me-

chanics' State Council, 148. The effect of the transcontinental railway on

the California industries, 148. The National Labor Union and the Chinese

question in 1869, 149. The North Adams, Mass., incident, 149. The Bur-

lingame treaty with China, 149. The National Labor Union and the Chi-

nese question in 1870, 150.

Revival of Trade Unionism. Stopping the contraction of the currency,

151. Eight-hour strike movements in 1872, 151. New and aggressive lead-

ers, 152. Abandonment of the National Labor Union by the national trade

unions, 152. The Crispins- the exception, 152.

Politics and Dissolution. Horace H. Day, 153. The "industrial" con-

vention of 1871, 153. The political convention, 154. Nomination for

President, 154. Failure and dissolution, 155.

CHAPTER V

DISINTEGRATION, 1873-1877 .

II, 156

Industrial Congress and Industrial Brotherhood, 1873-1875. The fresh

impulse towards national federation, 157. Joint call by the national

trade unions, 157. Guarantee against politics, 158. The circular, 158.

The Cleveland Congress, 159. Representation, 159. The trade union na-

ture of the proceedings, 159. The constitution, 160. Attitude towards co-

operation, 161. Attitude towards politics, 161. Effect of the financial

panic on the new federation, 161. Congress in Rochester, 161. Represen-

tation and the secret orders, 162. Debate on the constitution, 162. The

minority recommendation of secret organisation, 163. Defeat of secrecy,

163. The Industrial Brotherhood, 163. The Preamble, 164. Robert

Schilling, 164. The money question, 164. Arbitration, 165. Other de-

mands, 165. Politics, 165. The Congress in Indianapolis, 166. The

dropping out of the national trade unions, 166. The new constitution with