Question

What enabled workers to form the earliest unions in America?

A) New immigrants added to the workforce.
B) Because most businesses were small, workers could easily talk to one another and act together.
C) Many workers had skills that made them hard to replace.
D) There were no laws yet that prevented labor from organizing.

Answer 1

The establishment of unions in the U.S. was greatly influenced by the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which endorsed workers' rights to organize. Post-WWII, however, the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 created a less supportive environment for unions by allowing workers to opt out, leading to a decline in unionization efforts.

Step-by-step explanation:

What enabled workers to form the earliest unions in America included several factors, but the passage of National Labor Relations Act of 1935 significantly contributed to the legitimacy and formation of labor unions by specifying that workers had a right to organize. Although initially, the U.S. government strongly encouraged the formation of unions during the early 1940s, the climate shifted post-WWII with the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. This act allowed states to enable workers to opt out of unions if they chose, making the legal climate less encouraging for unionization. Prior to these developments, workers' ability to organize was hampered by several challenges including a diverse workforce with language barriers, cultural tendencies towards independence, and a preference for individual advancement rather than collective action.