What was one of the major obstacles to the growth unions during the late 1800s?

Answer 1

unions received little government support.

Answer 2

1. The federal government usually sided with the factory owners when it came to strikes, and several Presidents even sent in troops to end these strikes. Courts ruled against strikers, too. In 1894, the Chicago court dealt a serious blow to unions. A year earlier, George Pullman had cut the pay of workers at his railroad car factory, but did not reduce the rents he charged them for company-owned houses. Workers walked off the job in protest. A federal judge issued an injunction, or court order to do or not to do something, against the strikers. Leaders of the strike were jailed for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. This act had been meant to keep trusts from limiting free trade. The courts, however, said that the strikers were limiting free trade. This decision was a major setback for unions.

Answer 3

Capitalists, or business owners, were not interested in spending additional money that unions required they spend on employees.