ABSTRACT
Foreign migration to the United States played a significant role in the expansion of American cities and the working classes during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In Cincinnati, George B. Cox worked to created a viable political machine that would attract widespread support and concurrently serve group interests. From 1893 to 1920, workers too forged organizations of those of divergent backgrounds, but along class lines. Ethnic animosities proved a critical factor in this attempt to combine the working classes to combat exploitation. Creating a common class identity that would recognize and respect differences yet transcend them to secure better working conditions, shorter hours, and adequate wages was a basic goal of the Central Labor Council and its members. Of all the ethnic groups in Cincinnati, the Germans had the most decisive influence. The relationship of Germans to the labor movement proved as important as their cultural contribution to the entire community.
