of labor in lines of skill” (Roediger). 3Around 1800 factories became more prevalent. Workers and employers no longer worked side by side. Employers were more concerned with the cost of labor than with the welfare of the workers. As factories grew workers became more involved in forming unions to protect their interests. Their tactics in the beginning were quiet simple; members agreed on wages they thought were fair and would not work for less. They also urged the owners to employ union help. Of course they pledged not to work unless the owners agreed to pay that amount.In 1806 when eight shoemakers in Philadelphia held an unsuccessful strike the factory owners found that the courts were an effective weapon to protect their interests. The eight shoemakers were brought to trial by the factory owners and the courts ruled that any organizing of workers to raise wages was an illegal act. In later cases the courts ruled that these same acts might be criminal. It took until 1842 when a higher court ruled in favor of the unions ruling that it was not unlawful for workers to participate in peaceful union activities. The ruling opened the floodgates to a plethora of union victories such as; the ten hour working day and the prohibition of child labor. Unions by being in the forefront of child labor laws have to this day protected the rights of children not only in this country, but around the world.In the years following the Civil War our nation changed form being an economy dominated by farms to urban industries. The nation transformed, seemingly overnight, 4from a rural to an urban economy. Cites began to emerge and industries such as coal, steel, engines and fast communications spread throughout the country. Although jobs were plentiful the standard of living of workers did not rise and they had to settle for living in crowded, unhealthy slums. The plight of the workers became even more desperate at the time of the great depression t...
