Working Men's Party

The Working Men's Party, nicknamed the "Workies", founded in 1828, was the first labor union in the United States, located in Philadelphia. They promoted free public education as a way out of poverty. They also demanded a 10–11-hour work period and universal male suffrage. The Working Men's Party was created to “promote the interests and enlightenment of the working classes”. Their main purpose was to provide financial support to journeymen striking against their masters. The Working Men’s Party rejected the beliefs of the Jacksonians. In December 1829, George Henry Evans wrote "The Working Men's Declaration of Independence" which made the point that the working class had inalienable rights just as any other class in society did. Like the colonists, the working class will suffer evils done to them by the government only up to a point. But after many abuses, it is time to use all constitutional means available to working-class men to reform the government and protect their right to equal economic opportunity. They called for new programs and changes in the American society not talked about by the Jacksonians. They also called for a new, tax-supported school system to replace the old schools, an end to imprisonment for debt, and legislation limiting work to ten hours a day. The Working Men’s Party disintegrated five years after its creation. There were many reasons for its downfall:

• Newspaper denunciation
• Internal dissension
• Doctrinal squabbles
• Hostility of major parties
• Inexperience of their leadership
• The absorption of their party into the other major parties