Question

read the excerpt and answer the question below.
\we want eight hours and nothing less. we have been accused of being selfish, and it has been said that we will want more; that last year we got an advance of ten cents and now we want more. we do want more. . . .
\in the age of electricity and steam that has produced wealth a hundred fold, we insist that it has been brought about by the intelligence and energy of the workingmen, and while we find that is now easier to produce it is harder to live. we do want more, and when it becomes more, we shall still want more. and we shall never cease to demand more until we have received the results of our labor.\
-samuel gompers, \eights hours and nothing less,\ 1890

the remarks in the excerpt were most likely given in response to which of the following?
(2 points)
○ the beginning of a national financial panic
○ the expansion of the labor force to include children
○ the replacement of workers with labor-saving machines
○ the rise of local and national labor organizations

Explanation:

Samuel Gompers, a key labor leader, advocated for workers' rights including shorter hours and fair compensation. The excerpt references industrialization (electricity/steam) that boosted wealth but made workers' lives harder, while they pushed for the fruits of their labor. Labor-saving machines (a feature of this industrial era) displaced workers or increased workloads without proportional benefits, prompting demands for better conditions. The other options don't align: financial panics relate to economic crisis, child labor expansion is a separate labor issue, and the rise of labor organizations is the context of Gompers' work, not the trigger for this specific statement.

Answer:

the replacement of workers with labor-saving machines