Question

What prompted the federal government to negotiate with Samuel Gompers, the head of the American

Federation of Labor (AFL), during World War I?


A

the realization that the government could improve the lives of working men and women


B. the need for peaceful and productive relations between wartime production and labor


C. the constant threat of

strikes by the men and women who worked in the factories


D. the reduced number of European immigrants who made up the bulk of factory workers

Answer 1

The belief that the state will improve the lives of workers prompted the federal government to negotiate with Samuel Gompers, the head of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), during World War I.

Option A

Explanation:

In 1881, Samuel Gompers picked over the leadership of the USA’s Confederation of Organized Commerce and Unions in Canada.

The union was founded in 1886 in Columbus, Ohio as the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The first president of the AFL was Gompers. He stayed the president of the company until his death in 1924, except for one year.

Under the leadership of Gompers, the AFL became the United States ' strongest labor union. The AFL permitted the company to join only skilled workers. Originally, unqualified workers were not listed under the AFL.

In the beginning, the organization even excluded the participation of women, African-Americans and other people of color. Gompers advocated the use of strikes but preferred to work quietly to secure equal wages with their employers ' workers.

In his opinion, political action could offend other industries and obstruct employees ' ability to obtain better working conditions; he also wanted to maintain AFL out of the political sphere.

Answer 2

The correct answer is A) the realization that the government could improve the lives of working men and women.

What prompted the federal government to negotiate with Samuel Gompers, the head of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), during World War I was the realization that the government could improve the lives of working men and women.

Samuel Gompers (1850-1924) was an English worker that emigrated to the United States (New York City) in 1863. In 1886 he was a key figure in the formation of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) clearly differentiating from the other major organization called the Knights of Labor, because the AFL solely purpose was the improvement of the working conditions in the factories.