Editing General Strike of 1835 (section)

== Background ==

The early 19th century saw the emergence of a new industrial working class in American cities. Traditional artisan labor—where craftsmen controlled their own work, owned their tools, and aspired to become independent masters—was giving way to wage labor in factories and large workshops where workers had little control over conditions. The typical workday in the 1830s stretched from sunrise to sunset, often 12 to 14 hours, with only brief breaks for meals. Wages were low, conditions were harsh, and workers had little legal protection or organized representation. The first stirrings of the American labor movement emerged in response to these conditions, with workers forming trade unions and advocating for reforms including limits on working hours.<ref name="laurie">{{cite book |last=Laurie |first=Bruce |title=Working People of Philadelphia, 1800-1850 |year=1980 |publisher=Temple University Press |location=Philadelphia}}</ref>

Philadelphia was a center of early labor organizing. The Mechanics' Union of Trade Associations, formed in 1827, was one of the first citywide labor federations in America, uniting workers from multiple crafts in pursuit of common goals. The Working Men's Party, active in Philadelphia politics in the early 1830s, advocated for free public education, mechanics' lien laws, and the ten-hour day. Though these early organizations proved short-lived, they established patterns of coordination and a vocabulary of workers' rights that would prove crucial when confrontation came. By 1835, workers were increasingly convinced that only united action could overcome employer resistance to reform.<ref name="foner">{{cite book |last=Foner |first=Philip S. |title=History of the Labor Movement in the United States, Volume 1: From Colonial Times to the Founding of the American Federation of Labor |year=1947 |publisher=International Publishers |location=New York}}</ref>