Rockefeller argued that he and other stockholders had not had “one cent of return” on their investments in the company in twelve or fourteen years. Assuming for the sake of argument that this statement was true, did it mean that Rockefeller and other stockholders had not benefited from their ownership of the company? Why or why not? Why did Rockefeller believe that he understood what was “the best thing for us all”? Did he believe that he had a special self-interest or point of view? Did his boasting about visiting miners and their families suggest that he realized they had different lives and interests from his? Imagine that you were a miner who witnessed the Ludlow Massacre. How might you have responded to Rockefeller's remarks? Mother Jones on the Futility of Class Harmony Progressive impulses to reconcile differences, to find common ground, and to reduce conflict rang false to labor union activists. Struggling to defend working people from industrial abuses, union organizers often viewed progressive reforms as dangerous compromises that defeated the goals of working people. Mother Jones, a tireless organizer for the United Mine Workers, expressed in a public letter her opinion of the efforts of a Chicago socialite, Mrs. Potter Palmer, to reduce the strife between labor and capital. Born in 1830, Mother Jones began to attend meetings of the Knights of Labor in
Rockefeller argued that he and other stockholders had not had “one cent of return” on their investments in the company in twelve or fourteen years. Assuming for the sake of argument that this statement was true, did it mean that Rockefeller and other stockholders had not benefited from their ownership of the company? Why or why not? Why did Rockefeller believe that he understood what was “the best thing for us all”? Did he believe that he had a special self-interest or point of view? Did his boasting about visiting miners and their families suggest that he realized they had different lives and interests from his? Imagine that you were a miner who witnessed the Ludlow Massacre. How might you have responded to Rockefeller's remarks? Mother Jones on the Futility of Class Harmony Progressive impulses to reconcile differences, to find common ground, and to reduce conflict rang false to labor union activists. Struggling to defend working people from industrial abuses, union organizers often viewed progressive reforms as dangerous compromises that defeated the goals of working people. Mother Jones, a tireless organizer for the United Mine Workers, expressed in a public letter her opinion of the efforts of a Chicago socialite, Mrs. Potter Palmer, to reduce the strife between labor and capital. Born in 1830, Mother Jones began to attend meetings of the Knights of Labor in
Progressivism%20Document%20Analysis.docx