When the United States sneezes, an economists' proverb says, the rest of the world catches a cold. Between 1995 and 2005, the United States accounted directly for one-third of global economic expansion, according to the nonprofit Council on Competitive

The factory system that developed around 1800 changed working conditions markedly. The employer no longer worked side-by-side with his employees. He became an executive, and, as machines took over manufacturing tasks, skilled workmen saw th

During the great surge of industrial growth between 1865 and 1900, the work force expanded enormously, especially in the heavy industries. But the new workers suffered in times of economic depression. Strikes, sometimes accompanied by viole

After the war a wave of strikes for higher wages swept the nation. Employers charged that unions had too much power, and Congress agreed. It passed laws outlawing the "closed shop" agreement, by which employers were required to hire only un