ABSTRACT
The early movements of labor were marked by a sullen, bitter, and destructive spirit; and some of the much persecuted propagandists of early trade unionism and socialism thought that "implacable destruction" was preferable to the tyranny which the workers then suffered. Every essential idea of modern socialism is contained in that brief declaration. In France, Germany, and England there were many groups discussing with heat and passion every theory of trade unionism, anarchism, and socialism. The principles and methods of trade unionism were being worked out on the actual battlefield, amid riots, strikes, machine-breaking, and incendiarism. Together with Robert Owen, a number of them were planning labor exchanges, voluntary communities, and even at one time the entire reorganization of the world through the trade unions. As early as 1840 many of the trades were well organized, and repeated efforts had been made to bring them together into a national federation.
