Toward workmen's compensation in North Carolina, 1913-1929

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Terrence Stephen Tickle (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Richard Bardolph

Abstract: This thesis is a history of the sixteen years of political activity which led to the passage of the state's first workmen's compensation law. The paper begins in 1913 with the introduction of the first compensation bill and concludes with the passage of the law in March of 1929. The paper seeks to answer why North Carolina took sixteen years to pass such an important piece of social legislation, and why North Carolina was slower in passing the law than some other Southern states that were considered less progressive in these matters. The major source of information was the newspapers of the period, particularly labor's Raleigh Union Herald. This was augmented by reports from the North Carolina Department of Labor and the Commissioner of Insurance. The issue was placed in proper perspective by articles and books on the subjects of labor history and social legislation. The study concludes that the major delay in passage of the law did not derive from any opposition to the theory of workmen's compensation or to any organized industrial opposition. The delay was caused by a balance of power in the legislature. The growing labor unions of North Carolina, aided by academic reformers and enlightened government officials, were able to prevent the passage of a low-paying compensation law until economic conditions forced a compromise solution. All of the bills introduced in the North Carolina legislature were equal or superior to those in other Southern states.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 1969
Subjects
Workers' compensation $z North Carolina $x History $y 20th century
Labor laws and legislation $z North Carolina $x History $y 20th century

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