I.
The
Process of Industrial Capitalism
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| The Sunken Road at Antietam. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons |
A.
The
Civil War—the Civil War is often called the first modern war, in large part
because the decisive factor in the Union’s victory over the Confederacy was its
industrial edge, which allowed the North to replace war material rapidly, while
the South was slowly starved of war material.
1.
Financing
the war—while part of the war was financed by simply printing more money, and
another significant portion financed through the first income tax—but the war
was also financed by the sale of bonds to investors. This created a growing
role for bankers and financiers during the war, a position they were able to
maintain when the war ended.
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| Jay Gould. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons. |
2.
Economic
Class and the War—while we would like to think that American men would gladly
fight for their country when called upon, this was not always the case. Early
in the war, there were more volunteers on both sides than could actually get
outfitted and trained adequately, by the second year of the war enlistments
dropped precipitously for both the North and the South. This led to the
institution of the first Conscription Acts (significantly, first by the alleged
“states rights” proponents of the Confederacy) in American history.
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| Map of New York City Draft Riots |
a.
Bonuses—because
bonuses were also provided for soldiers who volunteered for service, a not
uncommon practice for a number of men was to volunteer, collect the bonus for
volunteer, and then desert—only to show up at a recruiting station to volunteer
again.
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| Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons |
b.
Substitutes—both
sides allowed draftees to provide substitutes, or to pay a bounty of $300.00
(the average yearly income of a worker at that time) to avoid service (the
father of Theodore Roosevelt, for instance, chose to pay a bounty to the
government instead of serving when he was drafted). This was seen as
inequitable by many men at the time, and was a contributing factor for the New
York City Draft Riot in July 1863.
c.
“Rich
Man’s War and a Poor Man’s Fight”—because of this class bias, the Civil War was
known at the time as “A Rich Man’s War, and a Poor Man’s Fight” because, while
rich men often became richer supplying the armies with war material (see
below), poor men made up most of the
foot soldiers, and also made up the lion’s share of dead bodies that were found
on the battlefields.
3.
The
Labor of Slaves in the War—the South had a much smaller population to draw upon
to put soldiers in the field, and it was this population difference that was
probably the greatest contributor to the defeat of the region in the Civil War.
Over 40% of the population in the South in 1860 was African American (1.5% free
blacks, and the rest slaves), and were never provided arms in any significant
numbers (near the end of the war, there was much talk about arming slaves, and
a few were allowed to serve in the Confederate Army—but not in significant
numbers). This did allow the South to field a higher percentage of white men in
its army than the North could muster—but not enough to make any real difference
in the numerical superiority the North enjoyed.
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| Slave "contrabands" |
a.
Continuation
of slavery—until the appearance of the Union Army in the vicinity, most slaves
in the South were little effected by the war. They continued to work on
plantations and small farms, as well as in cities.
b.
The
Great Strike—given the opportunity, however, slaves showed in great numbers
that they were willing to help overthrow this system by showing up in Union
Army encampments in huge numbers. “Contrabands,” as they were called, were
initially returned when masters came to claim them, but after realizing that
the domestic war effort in the South depended upon their labor, they were
instead put to work in Union camps, until early 1863 when they were permitted
to enlist in separate units in the Union Army. By the end of the war, African
American troops made up approximately 10% of soldiers in the Union Army.
4.
Government
Contracts—to provide clothing, bedding, tents, boots, wagons and horses, food,
ammunition, weapons—in short, everything needed to run the war. It is easier
for the government to maintain these contracts if they were given only to a few
large business, rather than numerous small ones.
a.
Financiers—The
Civil War was financed by a variety of means: printing more money (in fact, the
so-called “greenbacks” were issued for the first time during this conflict—what
we today identify as money), by raising taxes, and by selling bonds. The sale
of bonds—promissary notes issued by the government to pay back the loan of
money with interest—were a way for the government to raise money by financing
the debt it was incurring to fight the war. The men selling these bonds
received favorable discounts to encourage their promotion, and many made
considerable profits from these sales.
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| Railroad mortar |
5.
Transportation—Much
of the South had relied upon river transportation, and resisted using
government incentives to spur railroad growth; this obstacle was removed with
secession and the withdrawal of much of the Southern Democratic contingent. The
resultant spurt in rail line construction was spurred not only by the need to
transport military goods, but also by the construction of the transcontinental
rail line.
6.
Labor
shortage—with numerous volunteers (and, later, conscripts) off fighting to save
the Union, coupled with the growing demand for labor that the build-up for war
entailed, the resultant labor shortage was very beneficial for those workers
who were not called to service, since business owners could not abide a long
work stoppage.
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| William Sylvis. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons |
B.
William
Sylvis and the National Labor Union (NLU)
1.
Formed
in 1866—While declaring practical objectives, like raising wages and improving
working conditions, the NLU also promoted a political agenda, including the
eventual establishment of a labor party.
2.
William
Sylvis—born in Annolph, Pennsylvania in 1828, Sylvis began serving an
apprenticeship as an iron molder by the early 1840. By the second half of that
decade, he had finished that process, and worked in a variety of establishments
in the Philadelphia area. During this time, Sylvis also began his association
with the Stove and Hollow Core Molder’s Union, first as an organizer, and
later, fulfilling a vision to bring all iron molders into a single union, at
the head of the Iron Molders’ Union.
a.
Effects
of the Civil War
b.
Manufacturers’
Associations
c.
The
turn towards politics
d.
1868
e.
Sylvis’
death
C.
The
NLU and Social Reform
1.
The
8 Hour Day—this proposal captures the imagination of workers for decades after
it was first proposed by the NLU in 1866—to its final fruition in 1937.
2.
Cooperatives
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