Guy Buser

History 1103, Dr. Shedd,

TA- Menasco
Paper #2
Word Count-1116
The Workingmans Liberty
Throughout the Gilded age and Progressive era many issues and controversies arose.

These issues consisted of civil rights and civil liberties, the wealth gap, and employees rights.

However, after reviewing the documents it appears as if most of the prevalent issues of the time

were derived from the same looming problem in America. Even though many issues were

debated vigorously it seemed as if the issue of income inequality hit home for everybody in the

country. This is more significant because it didnt just pertain to a select group yet had reached

every American. As a nation at the time America was split along various lines of economic

status. There was the rich 10%, and then basically a small middle class followed by a very poor

lower class. The upper class lived extravagant lifestyles such as those in the Great Gatsby and

then the middle and lower class struggled to put food on the table for their families and find

stable work to support themselves. Because it affected everybody the income inequality issue

rose above all others making income inequality a more significant factor in the development of

our modern nation.

Now when looking at the issue of income inequality most historians tend to overlook the

perspective of the super-rich and wealthy class which goes against any rule in developing a

strong argument with substance and hinders the ability to present accurate information. Therefore

you have to take all perspectives into account when developing an argument. For instance,

Andrew Carnegie is regarded as the 2nd richest person in American history and at the time his
monopoly on the steel industry enabled him to accumulate an enormous fortune. Using the cost

cutting efficient Bessemer process Carnegie was able to build U.S. steel into one of the biggest

and most successful monopolies of U.S. history. Even though Carnegie was part of the 1% at the

time by the time he died he gave almost all of his fortune to various charities and foundation.

Carnegie believed in the social gospel an idea that the wealthy class had an obligation to the less

fortunate in which they provided the means of escaping the lower class. In an excerpt from one

of his papers he writes, In bestowing charity, the main consideration should be to help those

who will help themselves.(Carnegie 1889)1 Basically Carnegie is saying that charity is not just

giving to give, yet it is providing the tools for success so the lower class can improve their

situation and become contributors to society. This is important because it shows that Carnegie

like many of the super-rich arent as heartless as historians depict them to be. As well as the fact

that many of them were working to reduce the wealth gap. This indicates that on the issue of

income inequality all sides were working together in order to bridge the gap and it is the start of

everyone in the nation coming to the negation table and working towards the common wealth.

Although a few of the upper class citizens were taking on their share of the burden when

it came to combating the income inequality in America. Many of the factory workers and

laborers at the time didnt feel they were receiving the rights they were entitled to. This sparked a

numerous amount of strikes and protests throughout the manufacturing sector. For example, John

Mitchell, one the more prevalent labor leaders of the time, was head of the United Mine Workers

Union and represented the working class. Mitchell had a strong belief on the definition of liberty

that the laborers experienced. His idea when it came to liberty was that it is impossible to attain

when paycheck to paycheck essentially barely making it. His idea of liberty revolved around

1 Foner, 492, From Carneigies Wealth 1889

economic security and the ability to meet your basic needs and have some left over after at the

end of the month. In one of his papers Mitchell says, He is not a free man whose family must

buy food today with the money that is earned tomorrow.(Mitchell 1910) 2 This is important

because it shows the actual situation of most of the middle and especially the lower class at the

time. It became bad enough that having a job and working 40 hours a week like wasnt cutting it

anymore the economy had become more and more about cheap or skilled laborers. This wasnt

due to fact that the market wasnt in the right condition at the time, yet it was the wealthy factory

owners taking more for themselves and leaving the bare minimum for their employees.

This idea of liberty being derived from economic freedom is especially prevalent in Ira

Stewards A Second Declaration of Independence. Steward, one of the most prominent labor

leaders at the time believed that if someone is only able to attain the barest necessities there is no

way they can truly be free. He believed that economic freedom a person is almost like a slave in

that they rely on industry and big business to provide the little that they have. Steward says,

Because when the working classes are denied everything but the barest necessities of life they

have no decent use for liberty. (Steward 1879) 3 again we see this common theme of the rich

getting richer and the poor getting poorer throughout this time period. This is important because

Steward is basically telling us that these laborers are being denied that basic right of liberty that

our founding fathers put into the constitution.

2 Foner, 555, From Mitchells The Workingmans Conception of Liberty (1910)

3 Foner, 493, From Stewards A Second Declaration of Independence

(1879)Foner, E. (2014). Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death 4th Edition. New
York, New York: Norton & Company, Inc .
 We are even seeing this issue in our own economy today. It seems as if all the money is at

the top and the 1% keep saying it will trickle down to the rest of the population but when the

wealthy keep 80% of the wealth to themselves there is not much to go around to the rest of us.

Part of the problem lies in the media, anytime a government figure mentions income inequality

on a national platform they are accused of class warfare. The main reason this happens is the

media is privately owned by that wealthy 1%. Simply put this issue has been around for almost a

century and yet we still havent solved yet. Just the continuity alone causes this issue of income

inequality to hold a superior precedence over all else.

Foner, E. (2014). Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death 4th Edition. New York, New York:
Norton & Company, Inc .