Unions

After the civil war, an era of industrialism began. This era was led by a partnership between government and big businesses. During this period of time Railroad systems, electronic devices, and other needs were invented or improved. To build and use the inventions and improvements much labor labor was needed. As a result of the desire for industrial growth from the government and businesses, workers were most of the time not taken into account. In response, the workers organized themselves into unions. These unions aimed to represent the interest of people at work and negotiate with employers for better terms and conditions for their members.
Various Unions were formed, each had different rules for admission, but all with a similar goal to protect and extend the rights of American workers. These unions were successful but not to a full extent. Organization was exceptional, they decided who could enter the union and who could not. However the achievement of their main goal was scarce.
Among the many unions was the National Labor Union (NLU). This was the first union and was formed right after the end of the Civil War. It included workers no matter race,gender, or skill level. Their main concern was not racial or gender equality, but they opted for higher wages and an appropriate amount of working hours. Their concern on working hours was solved, and eight hours of work were given for federal workers. Other unions were: The knights of Labor, whose concern was racial and gender equality as well as for an end to child labor; The American Federation of Labor (AFL), which only admitted skilled workers, thus making it more successful than any of the major labor unions. ; Last but not least, was the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) , which promoted worker solidarity to overthrow the employing class.
These strictly organized Unions also created strikes. These strikes were for the most part unsuccessful and often ended up with terrible consequences. Some strikes included the Railroad strike of 1877, the Homestead Act strike, the Pullman strike and the Haymarket square riot. In response, the government sent troops to maintain control. However in some strikes such as the Haymarket Square Riot in Chicago, the strikers opted for violence which ultimately caused the strikes to end without any kind of accomplishment and more importantly deaths.
The extreme, and fast growth of capitalism and industries in the post war era led to tension between capitalist and their employees. The unions formed as a result, all shared a common goal even though they had different conditions for admission. The unions excelled at organizing themselves, unfortunately, they could not accomplish most of their goals such as an increase in wages and the overthrowing of employers by the working class. Therefore they could not be very successful.

Reconstruction Plans.

The American Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865, was a clash between the United States of America ( the union) and the southern slave sates also known as the Confederate States of America. It all began when Abraham Lincoln, a republican who opposed the expansion of slavery, took the victory in the elections of 1860, resulting in some southern states declaring their secession for the Union. The Union saw this as a rebellion, therefore, when Lincoln took office, his goal was to preserve the Union. To do this, a war was necessary. After reaching an amazing number of hostilities, the Union came out victorious. The next step was reconstruction.
The reconstruction was an attempt to resolve the consequences of the civil war. It would need to address how the south would return to the union, the condition of the newly freed blacks, and decide what would happen to the ex-leaders of the confederacy. Lincoln, Johnson, and the Radical Republicans presented plans for reconstruction, among these were similarities and differences on how to confront the matter. However, the Radical Republican's plan presented the best soulution.
Lincoln's plan was based on a quick and painless reincorporation of the south to the Union. He began the ten percent plan, which stated that in order for a state to be readmitted, it needed just ten percent of voters to take a loyalty oath to the United States. He also wanted the south to discard the compact theory and welcome the contract theory. Lincoln's plans for reconstrutcion were very moderate compared to the Radical Republican's plans.
Johnson's plan was somewhat similar to Lincoln's, for he also requested a certain percentage ( fifty percent) of voters to swear loyalty and allegiance to the United States. Johnson also opted for a pardon to ex-confederates which in turn would help keep control of southern State Governments, southern lands and black people. Even though he enforced the acceptance of the thirteenth amendment, like Lincoln's plan, not much was done to enfranchise the south's black population.
Johnson's plan caused him to come into direct confrontation with the Radical Republicans, thus creating a struggle between the executive and legislative branch. In discontent with Johnson actions for reconstruction, the Radical Republicans wanted to destroy Johnson's plans. Unlike Lincoln's plan, the Radicals would guarantee the enfranchising of the blacks into the south, mainly because doing so would provide economic aid to the demolished south and keep the freedmen from job competition in the North. To further enfranchise blacks, they came up with the fourteenth amendment, which defined citizenship rights and had to ratified by states in order to be readmitted.
The similarities and differences between these plans at the end all provided good references to each other to come up with better alternatives for a reconstruction favorable to the United States economically and socially. Clearly, the one that did this the best were the Radical Republicans, since their plan was well thought, and it intergrated the freedman while at the same time helping the country's economy recover.

The Reform Movements.

A reform movement is a kind of civil movement whose goal is to make a progressive change in certain aspects of society. Since the end of the revolutionary war, concerns about the values of the new society emerged. During the period between the end of the war of 1812 ans the antebellum period, a variety of grassroots movements flourished to address the social problems confronting the nation. This period is known as the age of reform.
The grassroots movements in the age of reform were successful in achieving their goals. In these movements citizens tried to confront the maladies that plagued their society. Such movements included included movements concerning women's rights, abolition, public education and prison reform.
The women's rights movement emerged mainly because of the common discontent among slaves and women of not having as much freedom or not freedom at all as men did. Led by Elizabeth Cady Santo and Lucretia Mott, women's rights advocates met at the Seneca Falls Convention were a Declaration of Sentiments was published. This declaration requested for legal equality for women.
Women accomplished some of the freedoms they wanted. They were given the responsibility to be educated women in order to follow the "republican motherhood" "code" which would ultimately help to create and secure a central position in the young minds of the nation. This meant that women would now have a better education provided for them.
Along with the women's rights movement came the abolitionist movement. This movement was probably one of the most controversial movements of the age of reform. Its goal was to end slavery for the abolitionist saw slavery as morally wrong. Some abolitionist leaders are Theodore Weld, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. These leaders contributed to the movement through many creations such as the Underground railroad and newspapers such as The Liberator. However, these movement did not saw its desired effects right away. Instead, the results would come along later on.
A movement for public education emerged as well. Its purpose was to have a more relevant curriculum and easier access to education. School reformers fundamentally expected to improve education so that children would become responsible citizens, sharing common national values. Horace Mann, an advocate for educational reform, made it possible to achieve the goals of the movement by making possible an increase in the money spent on schools, thus introducing the textbooks.
As with the mental health movement, the prison reform movement argued about about practices of humiliation and physical abuse to maintain order and discipline in prisons. Reformers requested for more humane measures such as rehabilitation through order and discipline.
The grassroots movements during the Age of reform saw their goals being accomplished. Women saw more job opportunities, prisons were better organized, abolitionist expressed and spread their ideas, and education was dramatically improved. These movements were also successful in arousing the government to initiate programs and policies to address society's problems.Unfortunately, the North and West were the only socially improved sides, for the south remained industrialized and traditional. Later on, it would take a war to set both sides equal.