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1850 Abraham Lincoln Campaigns as a Friend of Labor | Massachusetts AFL-CIO
1850 Abraham Lincoln Campaigns as a Friend of Labor
Seeking to win the support of northern mechanics and factory workers, Abraham Lincoln campaigned as a friend of the Labor Movement. Lincoln praised the virtues of the American worker, while condemning the greed of management. During his campaign, Lincoln declared that “labor can exist without capital, but… capital could never have existed without labor. Hence… labor is… greatly superior of capital.”
Massachusetts workers embraced the words of Abraham Lincoln, not just in their fight to extend free labor to the south, but also in their struggle to improve their own condition. After the end of the Civil War and Lincoln’s tragic death, the workers of Massachusetts demanded that their Commonwealth live up to the standards that the President had championed. In November of 1865, Ira Steward addressed a crowd of workingmen at Faneuil Hall. Steward read off a list of goals to the crowd, and concluded that
“We rejoice that the rebel aristocracy of the South has been crushed… that beneath the glorious shadow of our flag men of ever clime, lineage and color are free. But… we yet want it to be known that the workingmen of America will in the future claim a more equal share in the wealth their industry creates… and a more equal participation in… those free institutions… defended on many a bloody field of battle.”
1850 Abraham Lincoln Campaigns as a Friend of Labor
Seeking to win the support of northern mechanics and factory workers, Abraham Lincoln campaigned as a friend of the Labor Movement. Lincoln praised the virtues of the American worker, while condemning the greed of management. During his campaign, Lincoln declared that “labor can exist without capital, but… capital could never have existed without labor. Hence… labor is… greatly superior of capital.”
Massachusetts workers embraced the words of Abraham Lincoln, not just in their fight to extend free labor to the south, but also in their struggle to improve their own condition. After the end of the Civil War and Lincoln’s tragic death, the workers of Massachusetts demanded that their Commonwealth live up to the standards that the President had championed. In November of 1865, Ira Steward addressed a crowd of workingmen at Faneuil Hall. Steward read off a list of goals to the crowd, and concluded that
“We rejoice that the rebel aristocracy of the South has been crushed… that beneath the glorious shadow of our flag men of ever clime, lineage and color are free. But… we yet want it to be known that the workingmen of America will in the future claim a more equal share in the wealth their industry creates… and a more equal participation in… those free institutions… defended on many a bloody field of battle.”
