ABSTRACT
One result of the Industrial Revolution in the United States was the rise of organized labor. Pre-Civil War beginnings of unionism were meagre, but with the rapid growth of industry during and after the war, labor felt the necessity of organizing to secure better conditions. The labor movement was retarded by an unfriendly public opinion and the hostility of industry and the government. Toward the middle of the twentieth century, however, labor attained a position of great influence in the economy.
