Question

Question 5 of 10

What happened to labor unions during the 1920s?
A. They saw increased membership as wages decreased.
B. They influenced government to end child labor laws.
C. They lost power as people made more money.
D. They embraced the policy of Fordism.

Answer 1

During the 1920s, labor unions in the United States lost power.

In the aftermath of World War I, the U.S. experienced an economic boom, and many workers saw their wages rise. As a result, labor unions experienced a decline in membership, as workers felt less need to organize to protect their rights and interests. In addition, many employers were hostile to unions and used various tactics, such as blacklisting union members and hiring strikebreakers, to undermine their efforts to organize.

During this time, the government also took a more hostile stance toward labor unions, with some officials arguing that unions were a threat to American capitalism. The Red Scare, a period of intense anti-communist sentiment that swept the U.S. in the early 1920s, further eroded support for labor unions, as many people associated unions with radicalism and subversion.

In this context, labor unions lost power and influence during the 1920s, and it was not until the New Deal of the 1930s that they experienced a resurgence, with the passage of laws protecting workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively.