Would you have joined a Labor Union in 1900?
             I believe that in 1900, I would have been torn over whether or not to join a labor union. Prior to 1900, people had organized together, but they really had no clout. Even though they stood up for what they believed, in the end, the federal government always stepped in on the side of business. Oftentimes, many people were killed during the process. For example, in 1877 when the four largest railroad companies got together and decided to cut their employees' salaries by ten percent, the workers struck back in defense. However, President Hayes called in federal troops. After a few weeks, the battle between the workers and the soldiers ended, but over 100 people were killed. There were also strikes by steelworkers and silver miners in 1892, in which federal troops were called in, and several people ended up dying in these incidents as well.
             Employers could bribe politicians, as well as hire scabs to replace the striking workers. After President Garfield was killed, politicians were forced into reforming the spoils system-giving appointed positions to loyal members of the party in power. This placed many politicians in the position of looking elsewhere for money. Therefore, they turned to where the money was-the big corporations. With campaign money coming from the big corporations, they could bribe politicians into doing what they wanted because they were donating so much money.
             Employers could also force workers to sign a "yellow dog contract" stating they would not join a union as a requirement for employment. Then, if a worker joined a union after signing this contract, the employee could be "blacklisted" and no other business would hire him. Many workers lived in company housing and shopped at company-owned stores. Therefore, the corporations had the upper hand. The employee had not much of a choice but to bow down to the employer's demands.
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