tlp_10_hmartin

Helen Martin Teacher Lesson Page (STUDENT SIDE)
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Grade level: Grades 9-12


 * Standard**:US II.5

Explain the formation and goals of unions as well as the rise of radical political parties during the Industrial era. (a) Knights of Labor


 * Guiding Question**: How did the importation of Chinese workers to break the 1870 strike at the Sampson shoe factory in North Adams impact the labor reform of the Knights of St. Crispin?

Settled vs. Unsettled: How did corporations use immigration to defeat union goals?
 * Title:**

By 1870, as the country was emerging from the Civil War, labor unions also were emerging as a means to deal with the wages, safety of workers, and security of jobs in the increasingly industrial economy. These nascent labor unions faced many issues as they attempted to control their members' futures. The paid labor force had grown with the granting of freedom to slaves, additionally there was an increase in immigration, an increase in workers returning from the war, and, with the completion of some of the larger railroad projects, an increase in unemployed laborers throughout the northeastern United States. The absence of government regulation of the labor force deprived the unions of any other method for bargaining other than requiring unity among its members in the event of strikes, slowdowns or stoppages. Because there were more workers than jobs, factory owners had a large available pool of workers to break strikes, split union shops and force longer worker hours, create cuts in pay and neglect worker safety.
 * Introduction:**

Into this cauldron came the Knights of St. Crispin ("Crispins"). The Crispins were a union for shoemakers, and were very successful in organizing in large cities like Lynn and Lawrence. Indeed, by 1870, they even had a contingent for women, and were one of the largest unions in the state of Massachusetts. By the spring of 1870, they had won grudging support among workers and citizens alike by a forward-thinking effort to get their members to settle into the towns in which they worked. The membership largely consisted of Irish and French-Canadian immigrants, who had, until this push by the union, been largely itinerant workers. The idea for settling into towns was twofold: it assured the unions a stable membership, and it justified higher wages. The members would be seen as good citizens, contributing to their community, and in need of a living wage to support their families. These families would then go to school and to church, and would spend money at the shops in the town. This was a win for all. Except, of course, for the factory owners, who wanted to control the issues of wages, hours and safety in their factories. As there were no laws regulating wages, and only a few regulating the work day and safety, the government supported the factory owners.

These pressures met in June 1870, in North Adams, Massachusetts at the local shoe factory. The Knights of St. Crispin were battling a Mr. Calvin T. Sampson for restored wages, protection of union jobs, and company policy toward workers when the economy slowed, and the amount of work for the factory decreased. The Crispins had successfully intervened when Mr. Sampson tried to hire non-union workers from a nearby town to break the Crispins. When that effort failed, Mr. Sampson tried something that set the entire country buzzing: he contracted to hire 75 Chinese workers from a management company in San Francisco. The union was astonished. The impact of this decision echoed across the United States and foreshadowed the coming turmoil as the United States debated the right of Asians to immigrate to the United States. How would the interests of differing groups of immigrant workers, union and non, as well as the factory owner, the townspeople, and the government be reconciled?

You have just been informed by the union, the Knights of Saint Crispin, that C.T. Sampson, the owner of the shoe factory where you or people that you know have worked, has replaced all of his workers with 75 low-wage, non-union workers from China, contracted to work your job for the next three years. You and your co-workers had thought you were negotiating with Sampson about issues like the length of the workday, how much money each worker would be paid, and whether or not you would keep your jobs during the current slowdown. Members of the community are not excited by the idea. A last minute negotiation is organized to save the jobs at the factory. Together with Sampson, a non-union worker, a local business owner and maybe that gentleman from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, you will try to draft a solution to the strike that can work. Then you will be asked to consider the significance and point of view of the group not represented at the negotiation table. Finally, reflect on the role of labor unions in securing protections for workers, or in denying protections to other workers....
 * Task:**


 * Lesson Process:**

__Day 1__ Today you will meet with others representing a variety of interests in the shoe factory and North Adams, Mass. in general. How will you work together to resolve the strike?

I. You will meet in groups of 4-5, each person in the group will be representing one of the following figures in the strike. Keep in mind each person's perspective and how it relates to that of the Crispin union worker.

1. **C.T. Sampson**, Factory Owner __Pages 99-108, below__ 2. **L.W. LeMoine**, Shoemaker, member of the Knights of St. Crispin ("Crispins") __Pages 114-115__ 3. **Daniel Luther**, Shoemaker, not a union member __Pages 109-112__ 4. **Lucius A. Ellis**, Shopkeeper, Town of North Adams __Page 115__ 5. **John Smythe (fictitious),** Bureau of Labor Statistics("BLS") __Page 46-47 and 116__

[Pages refer to the documents from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Report 1871 -- images of pages below].

II. You will be reading the witness statement of your character in order to get their perspective on events. Each witness will be given excerpts to read of their testimony given to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (the pages listed above). You, as a witness, will prepare a Goals Chart for negotiation in preparation for the following days' in-class activity. Make note of wages being paid to each type of worker, and how many hours are being worked. Note what happens when the shoe business slows down and there is no need to make as many shoes. Think about why your character would be called to testify about the strike, and how his perspective might be colored by the role he played in the events leading up to the strike.



III. Each group will negotiate a preliminary settlement of the strike and complete one Settlement Chart for the group. The main goals of the settlement should address wages, length of workday, working conditions, what happens when there is less work to do (times when there is a low demand for shoes), whether or not the factory will be a union shop, and term of employment (how long does the factory owner have to keep a worker, and under what conditions can the employee be terminated). Think about what matters to your assigned character/witness. What compromises are you willing to make? What agreements can the group reach?



__Day 2__

Agreements will be presented to the class. In your groups from yesterday, choose a spokesperson to explain the agreements your group reached. Each of the negotiation groups will present their group agreements to the rest of the class.

As a class discuss: What were the main differences in the agreements? Are the agreements fair to all parties?

Then ask yourselves: What has been left out here?

The Chinese are not present at this negotiation. Why?

Let's look at the Chinese workers' point of view:

Read these three (3) newspaper articles about the Chinese workers. [If I can get permission for the pictures in Anthony Lee's book, I would like to use those as well.]

Article describing the contract Article describing "board" Article describing Chinese New Year celebration

Then discuss: What was the Chinese workers' point of view about the strike?

__Day 3__

Now step outside your role -- as you look back at the experiences of all the participants in the strike, answer these questions:

1. What barriers did the unions face in their battle with factory owners? with the replacement workers?

2. What solutions can you propose? Are there acceptable limits that can be placed on all groups to allow them to work together?

3. Is government intervention necessary to protect workers? If so, should those protections extend to immigrants, non-citizens, like the Chinese in this event? Does your answer change if you know the workers do not want to stay in the United States?

__Assessment__

Finally, for homework, write a persuasive essay for or against a law that would set a minimum wage and maximum workday. Include examples from the events and testimony of the North Adams Strike of 1870 to support your position, and explain why or why not such a law would help resolve this strike. Consider, with a minimum wage and maximum workday, whether the factory owner could have hired cheaper labor to break the strike.

The Knights of St. Crispin faded from the scene not long after the failed action at the Sampson shoe factory. Sampson had demonstrated a successful, if controversial, means of breaking the strike. Despite the fact that Sampson had shown the method to be effective, and although the Chinese were making more and better shoes for less money than the union, hiring Chinese workers to break strikes did not become widely used. That may in part be true because the mere threat to do so by a factory owner was sufficient to bring a strike to an end, but also was due to the fact that very few citizens were comfortable with the idea. Sampson was vilified by both unions and factory owners for his efforts. Prejudice against the Asian immigrants was stronger than the economic need to break strikes. The French-Canadian and Irish immigrants did not hesitate to claim alignment with "Americans" bent on nativist exclusion of the Chinese laborers. They felt no kinship with the Chinese as the new immigrant group, rather the other workers and nativists unequivocally denounced the Chinese workers as bad for America. The combination of fledgling government policies supporting labor and regulating industry safety and the lack of immigration laws assuring immigrants the benefits of what laws there were in place led to an intolerable solution.
 * Conclusion:**


 * Assessment:**

before the Bureau of Labor Statistics Board and identify goals || Student is able to identify more than 3 goals || Student is able to identify one or two major goals || Student is able to identify one major issue || Student is unable to identify any goals || 10 points ||
 * // STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO… // || // STRONG // || // GOOD // || // ADEQUATE // || // INADEQUATE // || // WEIGHTING // ||
 * Read the testimony of witnesses
 * Discuss with other students how competing goals can be resolved || Student is able to explore options with others and communicates well. Enables group to resolve more than one issue. || Student is able to explore options and communicate effectively. Enables group to resolve one issue. || Student can review the list, communicates with others. Group may be able to resolve one issue. || Student does not communicate with the group and makes no effort to resolve conflicts || 10 points ||
 * Compare results and determine affect of result. || Student actively participates in class discussion and demonstrates clear understanding of issues. || Student participates in the class discussion and demonstrate some understanding of the issues. || Student actively listens, and attempts to participate in class discussions to clarify understanding of the issues. || Student does not participate in the discussion, and does not make any effort to understand the issues. || 20 points ||
 * Evaluate the entire event and determine the relationship of the parties to the ultimate result. || Student writes a persuasive essay, applying ideas and issues from the negotiation and class discussion. || Student writes a persuasive essay applying an idea from the negotiation || Student writes a persuasive essay demonstrating understanding of the issues || Student writes a minimal essay, demonstrating no understanding of the issues || 60 points ||


 * Resources:**

Testimony, Massachusetts Bureau of Labor Statistics Report 1871, hearing regarding North Adams strike,

[[@tlp_10_hmartin_documents|
Link to DOCUMENTS===]] (Helen Martin's page tlp_10_hmartin_documents)==

[photos of relevant pages from primary source are on this additional page]

Articles on Chinese Workers at North Adams:
1) "Contract" -- [No Title], Pittsfield Sun, 06-30-1870; **Volume:** LXXI; **Issue:** 3641; **Page:** 1



2) "Board" -- "Adams," Pittsfield Sun; 08-04-; **Volume:** LXXI; **Issue:** 3646; **Page:** 2



3) Chinese New Year -- "The Chinese New Year's", Pittsfield Sun, 02-23-1871; **Volume:** LXXI; **Issue:** 3675; **Page:** 2



Anthony Lee, //Shoemaker's Story: Being Chiefly about French Canadian Immigrants, Enterprising Photographers, Rascal Yankees, and Chinese Cobblers in a Nineteenth-Century Factory Town// (Princeton University Press, 2008).

Worksheets:




Additional Resources:
Mass Moments June 13, 1870 "Chinese Workers Arrive in North Adams"

Library of Congress, American Memory-- Images:

@http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl?data=/home/wwNorth Adams, MA, 1889 map.

General View, North Adams, MA, 1910-1920 (American Memory, LoC)

Shoemakers, photo c. 1840-1860

Chinese Shoe Maker, SF CA, c. 1910

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