History Of Labor

Throughout the historical period of this course, 1880-1945, workers’ movements, especially labor unions, had uneven success. In the period from 1880 to the early 1930s, workers lost more battles than they won, but in the mid- and late-1930s this was reversed, so that by the end of the 1930s workers’ advances far outpaced their losses.Write a paper describing this turnaround of the labor movement and explaining the causes for it. What part of this change was due to the foundations laid in earlier periods, and what part to new developments in the 1930s?After your introduction, you should use about one page to describe the differences between the pre-1930s period and the period of the mid-1930s and beyond. Then, in the remainder of the paper, explain the reasons for this change.These explanatory reasons could include factors external to the labor movement, such as economic change and actions of management and the government, as well as factors internal to the labor movement, such as inclusiveness, organization, and tactics. [Note that these are only a few samples of many possible factors affecting the outcomes.] Which of these explanatory factors began earlier, laying the groundwork for the changes, and which were new developments in the 1930s?Be sure to provide specific evidence to back up your argument.For sources, you must use the textbook (Who Built America?), including chapters 8 and 9. You can also use the supplemental readings as well as class lectures, videos and discussions. You may not use any other sources (with one exception described below), including web sources, because it is difficult to determine the accuracy and reliability of much of what is available on the web. If you find you do need additional sources of information, you may use the peer-reviewed articles accessible through JSTOR, a portal into several scholarly journals available to you as Rutgers students through the library (http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/indexes/jstor).