The Gompers Era

The Gompers Era

Topic Overview

During the second week, among the topics covered are the Knights of Labor, the campaign for the Eight-Hour Day, the Haymarket violence and the origins of Labor Day and May Day.
	Haymarket Monument

Assignment (Selected)

Topic	Readings
Initiatives of the Knights of Labor	Knights of Labor
Chicago Labor Movement and the Eight Hour Day	Eight Hour Movement
The National Movement for an Eight Hour Day	Haymarket and May Day
The Story of the Haymarket Martyrs	Haymarket Martyrs

At the end of each two week period, there is a short quiz of ten questions, most of which can be answered with just a few words.

Quiz Questions (Samples)

Samuel Gompers and the Gompers’ Era

According to Dan Tobin (in the biography “friends and opponents” section of the Samuel Gompers Papers) what was a key ingredient in making Gompers an effective labor leader?
According to Emma Goldman (in the “friends and opponents” section), Gompers was a reactionary. What evidence does she use to support this assessment?
What was Gompers “sabbatical year of 1895?”
Compare Gompers and the AFL’s support of the war with the wartime situation of 2006, regarding the issue of dissent and patriotism.

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