Within a few decades after the political movement began,
many States had passed lien laws, had taken active measures to
establish efficient free schools, had abolished imprisonment for
debt, had legislative inquiry into factory conditions, and had
recognized the ten-hour day. These had been the leading demands
of organized labor, and they had been brought home to the public
conscience, in part at least, by the influence of the
workingmen's votes.
It was not until after the Civil War that labor achieved
sufficient national homogeneity to attempt seriously the
formation of a national party. In the light of later events it is
interesting to sketch briefly the development of the political
power of the workingman. The National Labor Union at its congress
of 1866 resolved "that, so far as political action is concerned,
each locality should be governed by its own policy, whether to
run an independent ticket of workingmen, or to use political
parties already existing, but at all events to cast no vote
except for men pledged to the interests of labor." The issue then
seemed clear enough. But six years later the Labor Reform party
struck out on an independent course and held its first and only
national convention. Seventeen States were represented.* The
Labor party, however, had yet to learn how hardly won are
independence and unity in any political organization. Rumors of
pernicious intermeddling by the Democratic and Republican
politicians were afloat, and it was charged that the Pennsylvania
delegates had come on passes issued by the president of the
Pennsylvania Railroad.
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