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American labor movement
American labor movement
American labor movement
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In the early to mid-1800’s, the week end was just that. Week end. Week end was Saturday night, not Sunday. Sunday was considered the first day of the week, not the week end, week-end or weekend. It was not for work or fun, it was for worship, a day of rest. Now it’s week days and weekend. We call the first day of the week Monday, but it is in fact, Sunday.
There was no such thing as the weekend as we know it until the 1870’s. Workers put in up to 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. According to A Weekend History Lesson by Krissy Clark, labor organizers worked with the government to get shorter hours. These kinds of changes did not come easily back then, some protesters lost their lives for publicly speaking about it and others in riots. Men were insisting on having time to do whatever they wanted, whether it be with their families, get more education or just leisure according to historian Michael Feldberg. There is a bumper sticker made by artist Ricardo Levins Morales that says "The labor movement. The folks who brought you the weekend."
The weekend was actually brought about by several things: The unions coming in, pushing for what the History channel calls “a working man’s holiday.” In the 1870’s there just happened to be a lot of Jewish immigrants working in the factories as well and their day of Sabbath was Saturday. The Christian’s day of worship was Sunday, so this worked well to have two days off per week right next to each other, creating the weekend. Other players bringing about the weekend were factory owners such as Henry Ford. Christian Overland of the Henry Ford museum explains it like this: “Ford wanted to sell his Model T. And if people were stuck in factories all week, when are they going to use it? ...
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...sure time, but not freedom from work life. After all, they are still at work, work is now all around them, and it is their life. There are no more weekends.
We are more knowledgeable than we were in the early 1900’s and yet we have given up our weekends willingly in exchange for stress, lack of sleep and possibly more money or a bigger or nicer house.
Works Cited
Rybcznski, Witold. “Waiting for the Weekend.” The Atlantic; August 1991; 268,2; ProQuest Research Library pgs. 35-52. www.dictionary.reference.com Labor Day, History.com staff, History.com, 2010, http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/labor-day, access date May 01, 2014, A+E Networks
Clark, Krissy. “A Weekend History Lesson.” Weekend America. November 24, 2007. pg
Trejos, Nancy. “TODAY IN THE SKY: New Pilot Fatigue Rules Go into Effect this Weekend.” USA Today. 2:13 p.m. EST, January 03, 2014.
Marks, L. (2006). The Loss of Leisure in a Culture of Overwork. Spirit of Change Magazine.
Previous generations have a strong belief of keeping work and home life separate; that work is for work and home is for play (Rampell, 2011, para 21). Today’s professionals do not seem to abide by similar beliefs, constantly crossing the borders of one into the other. While many recognize this as an issue that could result in employees being less productive, it has actually resulted in them accepting that their work may run late into the evening or even into the weekend. I agree with this completely in that I grew up being taught that business is business and personal is personal; you leave your home life at the door. But now times have changed, and my weekends are no longer dedicated to my home life, but for work, because I attend classes during the week. Also, in my line of work in the Allied Health industry, it is a requirement to work off hours. Long gone are the days of working nine to five, Monday through Friday; technology and the demand of wanting affairs done and done as soon as possible, has made it so the “work week” is now 24-7. “Jon Della Volpe, the director of polling at Harvard Institute of Politics, said, ‘Some experts also believe that today’s young people are better at quickly switching from one task to another, given their exposure to so many stimuli during their childhood and adolescence’” (Rampbell,
Grant’s hard-won victory at Vicksburg, Mississippi, in May of 1863 was a strategic masterpiece. On May 1, 1863, Grant's army crossed
"Work sessions must be varied about eight times a day because a man cannot remain enthusiastic about his job " ( 117). This statement was a suggestion made by Charles Fourier, who wanted work to become better. This statement talks about division of labor. Division of labor was a direct result of industrial capitalism, and it created alienation of labor. In 1750 workers would do the same thing such as making shoes. Their means of production would simply be small tools. In 1850 they would do many boring things instead of just one. Also, their means of production would include bigger, more technological advances that not everyone would be able to run. This "improvement" still made work very boring. Work in the 1750's was more exciting than work in the 1850's.
The Sabbath is designed as a day of rest after working for six days, no work including sport is to be performed on this day. When God created the earth, he set aside the seventh day as a day of rest after all the hard work he had done.
People will argue that having a low-paying job and freedom is better than a high-paying job and a 60-hour workweek. However many including myself, don’t share the views of Hal Niedzviecki’s essay’s “Stupid Jobs Are Good to Relax With”. Having a higher paying and longer hours provides much more income and allows for a lot more financial freedom. This freedom can help bring much more happiness into your life compared to the lower paying workweek. Hal Niedzviecki mentions many benefits to the easy jobs with low-paying workweeks in the following statement
The work week had dropped from 60 to 48 hours. For the first time, the Americans considered play as important as work. The weekend family outing and vacation had become things workers expected it. Huge numbers of people had radios went to the movies and owned a car.
The battle at Gettysburg was a defining moment in the Civil War not only because of the battle itself, but what prevailed with civilian opposition, and the events that changed the trajectory of the battle. The Turning Point of the War on July 1, 1863, the Union Army of the Potomac engaged the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia which had advanced into the north.
June 29, 1863, the day before the most memorable battle in history took place. The Battle of Gettysburg would become the major outcome of the Civil War. What
Ending in 51,112 casualties, the Battle of Gettysburg was a three day series of conflict between the Union and the Confederate, starting on July 1st, and lasting until July 3rd. Combined, George G. Meade, Union General, and Robert E. Lee, Confederate General,
As the majority of parents work longer hours then other parents did in the past to
Going to work for a full day isn’t much fun after working fifteen hours the day before! 60-70 hour work days are never pleasant in anybody’s mind. How is it that so many people did this during the Industrial Revolution? Was it because they wanted the extra money? Or was it because they wanted the high political or economic status? For some people these were the reasons, but for most it was because of one concern. Survival! The Industrial Revolution greatly changed the workplace and the proletarians.
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
American author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, once wrote, “We must leave this terrifying place to-morrow and go searching for sunshine (Fitzgerald).” At the turn of the 20th century, Americans experienced a rapid change in technology and cultural values. Throughout this period, people strived for a sense of “order” amongst the chaotic change; ultimately, the era was defined by this search; however, it is better understood as people adapting to new technologies and new forms of leisure in their efforts to find stability.