“ THE LAND OF PROMISE“ 1960 AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AFL-CIO HISTORY OF UNION MOVEMENT 69574

Join this channel to get access to perks: Want to learn more about Periscope Film and get access to exclusive swag? Join us on Patreon. Visit Visit our website This 1960 film was created for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). It intertwines the development of unions with the history of the US at large, as an example of continuous progress. It looks at the first major steps after the industrial revolution, followed by massive changes made under FDR in the name of labor well-being. The second part looks at the benefits of unions for everyone, including its members and the wider public, by introducing higher wages and more spending in local communities. It ends with a short speech by AFL-CIO head John Meany, who lauds the progress that has been made but demonstrates that more needs to be done so that the children can live a better life. The film was directed by Bill Buckley, with Melvyn Douglas, Ronnie Gilbert, Joe Glazer, and Tommy Makem. 0:07 Patriotic introductory sequence for “The Land of Promise” including scenic nature shots, farming, industry, and construction, 2:04 “Land of Promise as told by Melvyn Douglas”, 2:12 a family fishing, a man skipping rocks, and people enjoying a lake, 2:46 Cars on a highway, 2:58 a family sitting in a car in a traffic jam, 3:37 sketches from the American Revolution, 3:55 sketch of Union Hall where the Continental Congress was held, 4:12 Benjamin Franklin, 4:21 sketches of different artisans, 4:53 different animations of gears transitioning into the mechanization of production processes, 5:24 animations of trains driving through the land, 5:41 Morse Code being transmitted, 6:00 sketches of a slave auction, 6:22 sketches from battles during the Civil War, 7:28 sketches of factories during the industrial revolution, 7:47 railway expansion and the frontier rush, 7:57 oocean liners full of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island in New York 8:38 tired looking people working in factories, 8:58 children working in factories, 9:26 Samuel Gompers, 9:54 union members meeting in secret and fighting street battles, 10:12 footage from the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York, 11:16 Newspaper cutout proclaiming US at war, 11:23 US soldiers rushing onto ships and driving off, 12:00 parade in New York after the Victory in the war, 12:30 a group dance performance, 12:51 Model T’s rolling out of a factory, 13:09 people fighting during the stock market crash, 13:53 unemployed men standing around, 14:30 men selling apples, 14:50 different people listening to the radio, 15:15 Roosevelt giving a speech and then being inaugurated, 15:38 NRA signs in different storefronts, 16:26 a parade with floats, 17:08 production in factories, 17:35 footage from the second world war, 18:00 factories producing war material, 19:08 victory celebrations in New York at the end of world war two, 19:36 a man with his son fixing a bike, 20:07 man mows his lawn, 20:17 shots of suburban houses, 20:35 man and his son throw a baseball between each other, 21:13 women sewing in a clothes factory, 21:47 students being instructed at a trade school, 22:06 children of union members at a school, 22:21 a union vacation and recreation resort, 22:42 aid being loaded onto a plane to be transported to Chile financed by the union, 23:06 Interview with the head of the AFL-CIO George Meany who speaks to the camera listing issues like poverty, education, lack of minimum wage, and segregation with accompanying footage, 25:23 two children eating an ice cream cone, 25:50 a rocket taking off, 26:04 children playing, swimming, and fishing, 26:46 Produced by Joel O’Brien, directed by Bill Buckley, The AFL-CIO is the largest federation of unions in the United States and represents more than 12 million workers. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit
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