History of the United States II / Unit 3 USH2 0336 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The American Federation of Labor
Captions available
The idea
In eighteen eighty-six twenty craft unions formed the American Federation of Labor, led by Samuel Gompers until his death in nineteen twenty-four.
In practice
Five hundred thousand members in nineteen hundred, one million in nineteen fourteen, four million in nineteen twenty.
Where people slip
It sought economic gains, not political change. Even at its peak it enrolled only fifteen percent of nonfarm workers.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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