Despite being celebrated for its industrial achievements, the very foundation by which society was predicated on in the Gilded Age crumbled as labor unrest grew. This sense of discontent on the part of laborers is demonstrated through the Haymarket Affair of 1866. Among those tried for the crime was August Spies, who in his “Address of August Spies,” compromises his own life by persistently undermining the legitimacy of the State to emphasize the determination of the collective for which he views himself as a “representative.” In his attempt to illuminate the injustices of the State and foreshadow the unremitting turmoil that will emerge with his murder, Spies simultaneously showcases the divisions within society at the time. Consequently, because it is a product of its time period, the “Address of August Spies” can be used not only as a means of understanding the Haymarket Affair but the dynamics of society as a whole. Delivered at his October 1886 trial, August Spies, ‘The Address of August Spies” is a primary source document. Spies recites the testimony in response to the accusations put forth against him as result of the Haymarket Affair. It is because Spies was both an active participant and observer in the labor struggle of the era that he is able to capture the tension of the period. In addition, because this account is given from the subjugated person himself, one may presume that it is an effective representation of the time. Nevertheless, these factors do not indicate that his speech is free of all bias. In fact, Spies’ defense is contingent upon highlighting the collective perspective of the laborers and does not address the views of capital. Thus, by presenting just one half of the convictions of the labor struggle, Sp... ... middle of paper ... ...ss to sacrifice his life for the advancement of the laborers illustrates how invested individuals were and how deeply they believed in their cause. Through the quotations he deploys, imagery he enacts and authoritative tone he embodies, Spies very deliberately takes control of the Courtroom showcasing that no matter the circumstances the collective will prevail. Spies recognizes that the trial is his condemnation so subsequently he seizes the opportunity to condemn the State of their fate as a result of their injustices. Through his willingness to sacrifice his own life to propel his convictions Spies not only makes a statement to the Court but further strengthens the concept of class-consciousness within the masses. Furthermore, signifying that there indeed “will be a time when our [their] silence will be more powerful than the voices you [the State]strangle today.”
“… no ordinary man. He had a quick, inquiring mind and uncommon resolve. He was extremely hardworking, forthright, good-natured, and a born leader. His commitment to the Glorious Cause of America, as it was called, was total. And if his youth was obvious, the Gl...
As Rand refutes a principal concept of socialism, she illustrates multiple counts of insubordination and social class structures. Socialism’s attempt to remove class structure fails miserably. The most prominent demonstration of rebellion rises from Equality 7-2521 and his emotions and desire for knowledge. After being denied by the Council of Scholars, Equality 7-2521 rashly breaks a window and flees “in a ringing rain of glass” (Rand 75). Equality 7-2521’s actions illustrate the ‘working class’ rebelling against the ‘elitists’ though this society attempted to eliminate social structures. Furthermore, Equality 7-2521 was not alone in rebelling against ‘the brotherhood’, Liberty 5-3000 followed his example. Unsatisfied with her life and the suppression of emotion, she followed Equality 7-2521’s example and “on the night of the day when we heard it, we ran away from the Home of Peasants” (Rand 82). The rebellion of the two members reflects the means of a social rev...
The major conflict in the play, Nine Ten by Warren Leight is jury duty. The first thing people think when they hear the words “jury duty” is sitting in a courthouse all day and night disagreeing whether a person is guilty or innocent. For most, the immediate thought when getting that letter out of the mailbox is that they do not have time. Their lives are full enough with running the kids to school and to after school activities. Their next thought may be, ‘but I’m going out of town soon’, just because a select few are going to jury duty does not mean that time will stand still and wait for their duty to be done. The last thing to cross most people’s mine, is that jury duty is a right, a civic duty, to allow a fellow man to speak to a member of his peers. However, just because most people dislike jury duty does not mean everyone does, some people may take great pride in deciding the fate of another person.
Late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century were the years of achievement, the years of one huge reform, the years that shaped the present day in so many ways. The present day industrial workers owe their stable life, pleasant working conditions, and a variety of insurances to nothing else but these fifty four years. The struggling lives of industrial proletariat (thesis), their desire for improvement (antithesis), and the emergence of the welfare state, political democracy, trading unions, and social equality (synthesis) skillfully describe the picture of the events happening in those days.
The document I chose was Document 19-1 titled ‘A Textile Worker Explains the Labor Market’. This document is the testimony of Thomas O’Donnell given before the U.S. Senate Committee on Relations between Labor and Capital in the year 1885. O’Donnell speaks about what it’s like to be a labor worker in the 1880s to a committee so they could better understand the relationship between labor and capital. The Gilded Age saw the rise of industrialism and great economic growth in the United States. But true to its title, the Gilded Age was only plated with gold but inward filled with corruption and poverty. What meant great success for some, meant lack of job security and financial hardship for the working class Americans. This document really depicts what it’s like being on the working end of these companies seeking to industrialize.
New York City at the time of the Civil War can be explained as a small roaming forest fire with the potential to cause an exponential amount of damage, not only to the city but the Union. The city, in a state of constant turmoil over a great many things; race, class, politics, and a constantly diminishing amount of available employment opportunities for it’s 800,000 citizens. The riots, which took place in New York between July 13 and July 17, 1863, are called by most, the “New York City Draft Riots.” When in all actuality the enactment of the draft was simply the catalyst to the already engulfing issues that had plagued and divided the city among lines of every distinction. The events over these five days are still widely viewed as the most destructive civil upheaval in terms of loss of life and the “official” number of those who gave their lives in those five days is estimated around 119.
Many impoverished people immigrated to America in hopes of achieving the American Dream but instead were faced with dangerous working conditions while the factory and corporation owners increased their wealth and profit by exploiting this cheap means of labor. Upton Sinclair succeeded to show the nature of the wage slavery occurring in America in the beginning of the twentieth century. People felt distressed and unimportant in the community because they were being used by the wealthy to generate capital leading the industry for the future success and efficacy in the market. Upton Sinclair was an American journalist who incorporated his personal research of the meatpacking industry conditions and people’s life, as well as the structure of the present business into the novel under analysis. Thus, real facts and data were incorporated into this literary work, which helps the audience to feel involved in the work and understand the overall atmosphe...
Davis, Thomas J. “The New York Slave Conspiracy of 1741 As Black Protest.” Articles on American Slavery. Ed. Paul Finkleman. Vol.5. New York: Grand, 1989. 33-46.
The “Red Scare” was consuming many American’s lives following World War 1. After the war ended, anarchist bombings began, and a general fear of socialists, anarchists, communists, and immigrants swept the nation. There had always been resentment to immigrants in America, and these attacks just intensified these feelings. Americans were concerned that, because the Russian Revolution occurred, that it would happen in America next. The government began sweeping immigrants up and deporting them. Many innocent people were arrested because of their views against democracy. Although Sacco and Vanzetti were on trial for murder, their beliefs of how society should be run was the main focus in the trial.
These injustices have begun long before Tom’s trial, but it is his trial which epitomizes the problems with our society. The first witness was simply just a misguided fellow named Heck Tate who it seems didn’t have much to offer to the case. Next, Atticus Finch called Bob Ewell to the stand. When I saw Ewell take the stand such a fierce hatred rose within me that I began to shake and tremble. Ewell wrongfully accused Tom of raping his daughter Mayella, however, with the grace of God, Atticus Finch had shown that it was very possible that it was Bob Ewell who because he was a lefty could have beat Mayella. If it were not for great men like Atticus Finch I would have lost all hope for this world. As I watched Mayella take the stand I wondered how such a kind looking person could be someone of such poor character. Her words seemed to paint a picture of a sad life; one where a father neglects her and she has fallen under hard times. Atticus, after pointing out it was probably Bob who beat her, asked Mayella who it really was that beat her. Mayella made it clear it was Tom Robinson, upon which Atticus asked Tom to stand. To the astonishment of the court Tom was handicapped! Tom was then called to the stand where he laid open for all to see the truth, explaining that it was Mayella who came on to him (that treacherous woman!). Soon enough the trial ended and every one awaited the verdict of the jury. The next few hours were the most nerve wracking of my life.
Modern industry has replaced the privately owned workshop with the corporate factory. Laborers file into factories like soldiers. Throughout the day they are under the strict supervision of a hierarchy of seemingly militant command. Not only are their actions controlled by the government, they are controlled by the machines they are operating or working with, the bourgeois supervisors, and the bourgeois manufacturer. The more open the bourgeois are in professing gain as their ultimate goal, the more it condemns the proletariat.
This evidently goes against Socialist voices who encourage the working class to rebel by going on strike until labor conditions are ameliorated. Sinclair manipulates the rhetorical questions in Scully’s dialogue to convey a patronizing and pitying tone toward naïve workers like Jurgis, as if Scully is a reprimanding parent and Jurgis is an ingenuous child who should have known better. This subsequently conveys a condemnatory and scornful tone toward the Capitalist voices who value profit over reform. Sinclair opposes these Capitalist voices, because they persuade and bribe laborers to continue working rather than granting them the right to separate from an unjust government, as the Declaration of Independence proposes.
Rebecca Harding Davis wrote “Life in the Iron Mills” in the mid-nineteenth century in part to raise awareness about working conditions in industrial mills. With the goal of presenting the reality of the mills’ environment and the lives of the mill workers, Davis employs vivid and concrete descriptions of the mills, the workers’ homes, and the workers themselves. Yet her story’s realism is not objective; Davis has a reformer’s agenda, and her word-pictures are colored accordingly. One theme that receives a particularly negative shading in the story is big business and the money associated with it. Davis uses this negative portrayal of money to emphasize the damage that the single-minded pursuit of wealth works upon the humanity of those who desire it.
...ation focuses on four events that "wrenched the national psyche”: the Senate's rejection of Woodrow Wilson's proposal for a League of Nations; the anti-Bolshevik hysteria that resulted in widespread violence; the enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment and the advent of Prohibition; and the rigged World Series. Asinof, keeps tabs on "self-deceivers and opportunists,” which include Woodrow Wilson, Secretary Edward House, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, gangster Al Capone; and gambler Arnold Rothstein. He points out how the Red Scare, led to attacks against civil rights, and argues that Prohibition led to Americans becoming "inured to the finer points of lawlessness." According to Asinof, the Black Sox were the most telling incident in the country's loss of innocence, and he gives an in depth account of it in a dark but highly readable report on a traumatic year.
The Oppression of Democracy Exposed in Civil Disobedience, Slavery in Massachusetts, Benito Cereno and Bartleby the Scrivener