The
Civil War did not end the division,argues. Both the end of the armed conflict and the expansion
of business and industry contributed to widening the gap.
Beginning in the
mid-nineteenth-century, Zinn notes in chapter 10, the legal bases of class conflict and
exploitation were increasingly disguised by the appearance of fairness and neutrality. Because
the wealthy business and industry owners controlled the political system, they could influence
the passage of legislation that favored their interests. During the crisis of the Civil War,
military and political unity suppressed class-consciousness. Workers rarely dared to strike.
After the war ended, massive numbers of soldiers returned home, unable to find work. For those
who did have work, conditions were often perilous. The formation of unions and numerous large
strikes seemed to threaten the owners control. By 1873, the entire US was sunk into a
depression.
Immigration laws were adjusted to allow more foreign
workers...
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