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1492
The Columbian Exchange
- The Columbian Exchange refers to a period of cultural and biological exchanges between the New and Old Worlds. Exchanges of plants, animals, diseases and technology transformed European and Native American ways of life.
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1512
Ecomeinda System
A plan established by the Spanish that stated that the Spanish settlers would protect the Indians in exchange for the Indians to work a portion of their time for the Spanish. Then plan, however, didn't go as stated, instead the Spanish settlers forced long labor on the Indians, didn't pay them, and failed to protect them. The Indians died from diseases and harsh living/working conditions. -
1525
The Rise of The Atlantic Slave Trade
Europeans sailed to Africa with the intentions to convert the Africans to Catholicism, but soon became more interested in profitable resources and slave trafficking. This event will mark the business of slavery allowing it to spread throughout the Americas. Also cause many political/social conflicts. -
Colonization of Jamestown
The first permanent English settlement, that will soon lead to the the growth and development of slavery throughout the British colonies in North America. -
Africans In The New World
Around 20 African slaves enter Jamestown to help grow the cash crop tobacco. -
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The Pequot War
An armed conflict in between an alliance of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies, with Native American allies (the Narragansett and Mohegan tribes), against the Pequot tribe. In the end of the war the remaining Pequot members were used for labor. -
Slavery In Massachusetts
John Winthrop recorded that the Massachusetts ship "Desire" had returned from the West Indies carrying "some cotton, and tobacco, and Negroes, etc". This shows that there were slaves in the Massachusetts to do some form of labor. -
The Middle Passage
The Middle Passage was the crossing from Africa to the Americas, which the ships made carrying their 'cargo' of slaves. It was so-called because it was the middle section of the trade route taken by many of the ships. -
Indentured Servitude
Many young men and women signed a contract to work for another person for a definite period of time, usually without pay but in exchange for free passage to the New World. During this time most of the white laborers in Maryland and Virginia came from England as indentured servants. -
Cotton Gin Patented
Eli Whitney's introduction of teeth in his cotton gin to comb of the cotton and separate the seeds from the cotton became very profitable, which increased the amount of slaves needed to use the cotton gins to produce cotton. -
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Market Revolution- Kids
During this period of time children, began to work in the factories along side the adults. -
Lowell Factory System
Francis Lowell opened the first factory in the United States that allowed people to transform cotton into clothing. -
The Market Revolution and Transportation Boom
The new businesses and railroads drastically changed the nature of "women's work". Many women stopped being the typical housewives, and start getting jobs -
The Lowell Offering
Created factories for women and girls to work -
Sewing Machine Invented
Revolutionized life for many women and also made it easier for the women in factories. -
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Labor Force Increases Massively
After the civil war, the labor force more than doubled. These workers often came from rural areas. Because of the growing economy they needed even more workers, which is why immigration went up. -
Founding of the National Labor Union
The National Labor Union was created to demand labor law reforms from congress. -
Standard Oil Trust Organized
Rockefeller created trusts that were designed to allow him and other Standard Oil stock holders to get around the state laws prohibiting one company to own stock in the other. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
Nativists in the United States reserved special hatred for Chinese immigrants,a group that had worked countless hours of labor at low wages, especially on railroad construction in the West. Unions pressed Congress to pass the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, completely banning Chinese immigration to the United States. Congress did pass the act, and it remained in place until 1943 -
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor, led by Samuel Gompers, was formed to organize skilled workers. The American Federation of Labor was different from other labor unions. Gompers focused on actual matters of labor like hours, pay and working conditions rather than political or social issues. Under Gompers leadership, the American Federation of Labor became an influential labor union and an effective model of collective bargaining. -
Andrew Carnegie - Steel
Carnegie's steel company was very significant. His steel created the first ever skyscraper, bridges, refrigerators, etc. Also Carnegie used vertical integration by buying all the steps needed for production, which was something different in the work force. -
Homestead Steel Strike
Several major labor strikes occurred in the early 1890s, foremost among them the Homestead Strike, which protested wage cuts at one of Andrew Carnegie’s steel plants in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When Pittsburgh police refused to end the strike, Carnegie hired 300 private agents from the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency to subdue the protest. The laborers, however, won a surprising victory after a bloody standoff. -
Panic of 1893
The stock market crashed triggered the panic of 1893 and led to the bankruptcy of the U.S treasury. Many jobs closed down, causing more people to be unemployed, and homeless. -
The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a massive increase of culture, music, and art in Harlem, New York. This included the creation of Jazz and the artistic form of impressionism. Many African-Americans became more successful in the labor force during this time. -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression was the most severe economic drought that plagued the USA in the 1930s due to the crash of the Stock Market and effects of the Dust Bowl. -
US Stock Market Crash
The 1929 Stock Market Crash (Wall Street Crash) was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout. The crash signaled the beginning of the 10-year Great Depression that affected all Western industrialized countries and did not end in the United States until 1947. -
New Deal - Public Works Administration
The Public Works Administration provided thousands of jobs by giving money to state/local governments to build public work projects such as roads, bridges, dams, and etc.
