Workers in the Industry in the 1880’s, had a lot of problems with wages and the horrible working conditions. Many people felt it was a major problem and people didn’t want to deal with these dismal conditions and these ridiculously low wages. There was an American Labor movement which included communist, anarchist, and socialist. Many of these labor radicals were immigrants. They believed that the Capitalist system should be taken apart because it exploited the workers.
When the first world war ended in 1918 there was a German revolution due to there failure and the Weimar republic was created. Due to the failure of the war Germany received harsh reparations from the treaty of Versailles and many people though that it was cruel to give Germany such a hard punishment. The government (Weimar republic) signed this order and many German people resented them for signing it and agreeing to the conditions. They were known as the November criminals. The violent uprising caused chaos across germany with many groups ready to take on the government.
The Progressivism social reform movements became thwarted by isolationism and conservative fears over The Red Scare. After World War I, Communism had been cropping up in many countries and many became fearful and paranoid of an uprising/plans for a takeover, as was feared happening across the seas. At the time, the labor union movement in America was strong and at 103% interest inflation rate for the cost of living, the economy was in turmoil giving laborers fair reason to strike against the business class who worked them under inhumane conditions for inadequate pay. The wealthy class became entirely distrustful of their lower class counterparts and in their eyes; workers were not to be trusted. In order to prevent a union uprising, like those that were happening overseas in Russia, many union leaders received unconstitutional treatment, many who were native born were jailed, while those who were born elsewhere were often deported.
Working 12 hours and pays getting cut because of depression , the Pullman workers began to walk out and protest. This had officially started the strike for Chicago. The members of the American Railway Union (ARU), soon joined them refusing to work on or run any trains , including Pullman-owned cars. Soon enough, 250,000 industry workers joined in the strike, effectively shutting down train traffic to the west of Chicago. The strike finally came to a end when President Grover Cleveland sent federal troops to Chicago on July 6, 1894.
The police openly fired on the protestors, and the number of deaths is estimated to be anywhere between 200-1000 people. Although it was not the tsar that gave the order, many people held him accountable for the massacre which was the final break of trust that the people had for their ‘Little Father.’ He was no longer thought of as being on their side: he was the opposition. The above statement could be accurate, as the reformist groups provided the people with a lot of ideas which challenged the tsar and his ideals. In recent years there had been an uncontrolled increase in the populations of the working class. This led to overcrowded towns and cities resulting in poor working and living conditions.
This protest took place in St Petersburg and was peaceful and contained, however due to Tsar Nicholas II’s drastic predetermined demands the order to kill caused the death of up to 1000 people including women and children. This resulted in the Tsar’s image shifting from the ‘little father’ to ‘Bloody Nicholas’, and most importantly swayed the working class of Russia from being most loyal and respectful of the throne to revolt and rebel. This statement from Anderson, Keese and Low quotes “This incident has created a deep gulf, which will not be easily bridged, between the Emperor and the working classes”, this source reflects the destructive impact of Bloody Sunday on the Russian people’s and the Tsar’s once firm relationship with the Russian people. As well as WW1, Bloody Sunday was fundamental and key to the demise of Tsarist autocracy as it heavily impacted the relationships of the working class and Tsar Nicholas II. The arrival of Grigori Rasputin played a crucial role in the demise of autocratic Russia.
The trade unions became a problem when real wages for workers was decreasing and the price of goods was increasing and as a result Wild cat strikes broke out and this presented issues for both governments and trade unions. Wilson’s response to this was his policy ‘In Place Of Strife’ in 1969 and Wilson thought it was necessary to curb unions who were getting out of control and for good of British economy. However this was not quite the case as it upset trade unions as well as some of the labour party itself, and a storm of protests took place, including the National Union of Mineworkers, and Callaghan
However, his dismissal led to Bloody Sunday. 150,000 unarmed workers and families congregated in St. Petersburg outside the Narva gates and troops fired into them. 200 were killed and 800 were wounded which led to an outbreak of rebellion through the military, the peasantry, national minorities and urban workers whereas before, only the military and national minorities were dissatisfied. Nicholas II had continued refusal to negotiate with them, however, 'bloody Sunday' showed the threat to his position. Sergei Witte was aware of this and drew up the October Manifesto, forcing Nicholas II to sign it.
Thousands of soldiers awaited the crowd having been informed incorrectly that the protestors where there to harm the tsar and destroy the palace. The soldiers fired into the mob, killing and wounding hundreds. The unprovoked massacre, called Bloody Sunday, became the catalyst for further strikes and uprisings against the government, called the 1905 Russian Revolution. Although the Tsar was not in the country at the time and had no part in giving orders for the troops to fire, he still received the blame for the deaths resulting in the Russian people losing faith in Nicholas II and a surge of bitterness towards himself and his autocratic rule. In response to this event and to gain back the trust of his people the tsar was forced to grant a constitution and establish a parliament, the
Ed. Sonia Massik, Jack Solomon. Boston: Bedford, 2009. Print. Brooks David.