THE GILDED AGE'S WORKFORCE
Antebellum America placed 4th worldwide in industrial production, and the nation was quickly climbing up the ranks. The process transformed the United States' social structure. The shift from the agrarian worker to the industrial formed a large breach in social class that distinguished the common laborer and the corporate giant. The rapid advancement of technology led to massive machines and factories, which required a plethora of laborers to control.
The workforce need was easily met, as America's population increased rapidly due to an influx of immigrants.
The workforce need was easily met, as America's population increased rapidly due to an influx of immigrants.
Unfortunately, the enormous flood of unskilled immigrants actually created a labor surplus, which made workers expendable. Corporate "robber barons" could decrease wages and increase hours however they saw fit, with little regard for safety. Workers watched as their rights slowly diminished.
Many companies would create run-down “company towns” for their wage laborers. Since corporations knew exactly how much their workers needed to survive, they could reduce their wages while reducing rent prices to just barely keep them alive.
It was from these unjust conditions that the organized labor movement emerged.