Children could work in dangerous jobs, people could be forced to work long days, and many did not have the option to deny dangerous work.

In response to these conditions, various labor unions organized, especially in the city of Chicago, where they were encouraged by government officials. The goal of organized labor was to achieve fair working conditions for immigrants and working class people. The Workingmen's Party of the United States was one group whose socialist goals managed to earn them several offices in Chicago. Other, more moderate, labor unions, like the Knights of Labor, used tools like boycotts to achieve their goals of higher pay, better working conditions, and fairness (VandeCreek). Although organized labor succeeded in creating the constraints that exist in working conditions today, thanks to the American Federation of Labor, had to face the fact that many people initially did not have a positive opinion of labor...
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