Samuel Gompers and Organized Labor in America

It was the particular talent of Samuel Gompers to have perceived the realities of the position of working people in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century during a period of massive industrialization and large-scale immigration. Gompers was part of the working class himself. Pragmatically, he developed a pattern of action and a philosophy that enabled one segment of the labor force to organize itself effectively. Those who joined his American Federation of Labor were largely skilled workers. Although the great mass of industrial employees was still unorganized when Gompers died, the forms he outlined and the procedures he followed provided the basis for the ultimate formation of a powerful American labor movement. Livesay's thoughtful book clarifies the main forces that operated not only in the life of this colorful figure but also in the economic and social background against which Samuel Gompers acted.