History

--Roots of 
the ILA

--The Dawn 
of Unionism

--First 
Longshoremen's
Union

--ILA
Beginnings

--Early Threats
To Unionism

--Realism 
and Caution

--The Haymarket
Riot

--Creation of
the ILA

--Affiliation with
AFL-CIO

--Fighting
Communism
and racism

--ILA arrives in
New York

--ILA absorbs
LUPA

--Gangland
Myths

--Wagner Act

--Pacific Coast
Split

--ILA Accused
of Gangsterism

--Teddy Gleason
Fights to Save
the ILA

Teddy Gleason

--Elected President
of the ILA

--ILA in the
Present

The roots of the ILA

MERCANTILISM

The dominant economic policy in Europe in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, mercantilism arose in the Middle Ages from attempts by newly formed national states to eliminate internal tariffs.

Mercantilism aimed to increase a nation's wealth by increasing its exports while simultaneously decreasing its imports. It was believed that the wealth of a nation depended primarily on the gold and silver it possessed. Therefore, it was necessary for a country to export more goods than it imported, receiving the difference gold and silver, and increasing its wealth proportionately.

Exploitation of colonies was considered a legitimate method of increasing the wealth of the parent country, providing it with a ready source of cheap labor, resources, and a controlled market for its exports. However, it also eventually led to opposition to mercantilist practices by building up industries in the colonies, which eventually came into competition with those of the parent country.

Rising dissatisfaction in the American colonies to mercantilist practices of England culminated in the American Revolution and resulted in the adoption of a new economic policy termed Laissez-Faire. Laissez-faire limited government control and promoted a philosophy of free trade, allowing those involved in industry and trade to determine what was best for the economy. This philosophy is best defined in the 1776 book, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith.

In the early 20th century, the principles of Laissez-faire lost favor in many nations, and some elements of mercantilism were revived. This new economic practice, known as neo-mercantilism, re-invited the government to involve itself in the regulation of trade and industry as a means of achieving political and strategic objectives. Today, government control over industry and trade is generally accepted as legitimate, but limitations on how much the government can intervene help assure that free trade remains free.

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