Thomas Jefferson University East Falls Homestead 1892 Change in The Industry Paper

Homestead, 1892

Paper Topic

For this paper, you will assume a role as a community leader in Homestead in 1892. Your task is to write a 5 page documented essay advising the workers in your community either to strike or to keep working. This is a persuasive essay and you are attempting to persuade workers to adopt a particular course of action.

Some factors to consider as you develop your argument:

• • What were the working and living conditions of the mass of unskilled workers in the town?
  • How was the industry-changing and how did these changes affect workers?
  • What were the major issues at stake in the strike?
  • Were the interests of Carnegie and his workers necessarily at odds? Or did they have shared interests?
  • How successful had similar strikes been? What role had government played in similar strikes?
  • What were the risks of advocating a strike?
  • What role did business personalities play in determining your response?

Sources

For this paper, please draw on course readings, quality websites, and additional primary source materials available at this website: Digital Public Library of America (Links to an external site.)

Documentation

Although you will be assuming the “voice” of a community leader, you will still be drawing on information and ideas from a broad range of primary and secondary sources and you must cite your sources in this paper using APA format. If you have questions about how to cite your sources, please consult your instructor and/or the Learning Center website.

You must cite your sources when you draw information or ideas from other sources.

Formal Essay 1 Rubric