In A People's History of the United States, Zinn devotes chapter 13 to socialist movements during the early 1900's. Is this justified or is he overstating the impact of the socialist movement?
Socialist movements gained tract in the turn of the century, and many workers were keen getting a fair share of their efforts from the employers. Also, people demanded more from the government, pushing for the protection of the old, sick and poor through programs that would reach out to the people. The formation of the National Civic Federation by Ralph Easley spelled doom and hard times for many companies, especially those which oppressed their laborers, or paid dues that were not in line with their services. The socialist movements produced results because by 1910 forty-two states had put in place workman compensation laws that protected employees from unscrupulous businessmen. Analyzing these events creates the sense that the constant push for reforms through the socialist movements led to drastic changes in the law that empowered the workers; hence, Zinn does not operate the impact of the socialist movements.
What is the Gilded Age and what changes occurred?
The Gilded Age is the period that followed after the end of the civil war, usually estimated between the years 1868 to 1901. The period was characterized by rapid economic growth and development of new products. Politically, the period was marred by corruption and lack of integrity and transparency, as rich capitalists used connections and key personalities to gain fair treatment from the government. People were awake to the need for change, and socialist movements started emerging, calling for better treatment of workers and fair compensation. The biggest problem with the pursuit of reforms was the inability of the people who pushed for them to agree on the best way to approach the reforms issue. The people were also very keen on political processes like elections, and wins came on very thin margins, as everyone turned up to vote for their favorite leaders. Ideally, the Gilded Age was a kind of self-discovery for the people of America, as they were gaining a lot of progress on economic and political reforms while facing social challenges which they did not have specific ways on how to solve.
What is Taylorism according to Zinn?
Taylorism is the practice of standardizing all the work descriptions of everyone in the company to make people carry out simplified tasks that play into the outlay of the whole production process. It emerged from the works of Frederick W. Taylor who worked as a foreman for a steel company. He analyzed the jobs of each of the workers and thought that the company could split the responsibilities and achieve better efficiency. His book, Scientific Management, released in 1911 became a very influential piece of work for managers, and many companies adopted the approach, making it very easy to divide tasks and carry them out in a way that was interchangeable and easily replaceable.
What is the Progressive Movement?
The progressive movement was a period of re-emergence that made politicians reconsider their stands. It came after the nadir of the Negro, a period when black people were lynched in the south, contributing to an increasing mistrust between the black and white man. Also, the progressive movement came after socialist movements proved too strong to the government, and President Roosevelt and other government authorities started considering compromises and conversations as a way of dealing with the unrest. Particularly, Roosevelt was worried that America was headed to a very difficult period if the people did not consider endorsing the regulatory Hepburn Act. Technically, the progressive movement pushed for the recognition of the rights of the commoners and the black community, hinged on the need to have fair compensation plans, protection and government policies that protected the rights of the minority.
In the Zinn book, pages 349-357, it discusses the Progressive period. What happened during that period and what changes does Zinn say it brought about?
The progressive period was in the early 20th century, and there was a lot of government bills being passed to cool down the temperatures of unrest that had been brought up by socialistic groups and the Negros from the south. The reforms did not bring any fundamental changes, but there was a series of enactments that purported to protect the rights of the employees and the Negros who were lynched in the South. The constant push for reforms made the government give way to the people, increase the minimum wages and infused the common citizen to the grand government strategy. The period was characterized by an upsurge of police raids, and miners are turning against their employers in pushes for better working conditions and better salaries. The conservatives (Republicans) favored the status quo while some liberalists thought that the government needed to do something about the uprisings, leading to the series of reactive reforms that gave rights to the workers.
Companies formed conglomerates in the Gilded Era. Describe the difference of how they developed and the difference between Vertical and Horizontal Integration
The Gilded Age experienced rapid economic growth, and despite the economic recession of the 1870’s that sank many companies, the remaining ones like Andrew Carnegie grew on the backdrop of effective management and ruthless business models that killed competitors. Some companies used the vertical integration, whereby, the supply chain was controlled by the company. In this scenario, the company would control the whole production process from sourcing raw materials to production of the final product. However, some companies used horizontal integration that involved the standardization of processes for the manufacturing of several products. Companies would join efforts to share production processes without losing control of their markets.
