Labor Movement and Capitalization
Rule 1. Capitalize a proper noun. Example: Golden Gate Bridge
Rule 2. Capitalize a person's title when it precedes the name. Do not capitalize when the title is acting as a description following the name.
Examples: Chairperson Petrov Ms. Petrov, the chairperson of the company, will address us at noon.
Rule 3. Capitalize points of the compass only when they refer to specific regions.
Examples: We have had three relatives visit from the South. Go south three blocks and then turn left.
We live southeast of town. Southeast is just an adjective describing a section; it should not be capitalized.
Rule 4. Always capitalize the first and last words of titles of publications regardless of their parts of speech. Capitalize other words within titles, including the short verb forms Is, Are, and Be.
Exception: Do not capitalize little words within titles such as a, an, the, but, as, if, and, or, nor, or prepositions, regardless of their length. Ex: The Day of the Jackal What Color Is Your Parachute? A Tale of Two Cities
Rule 5. Capitalize federal or state when used as part of an official agency name or in government documents where these terms represent an official name. If they are being used as general terms, you may use lowercase letters. Examples: The state has evidence to the contrary. That is a federal offense.
Ex: The State Board of Equalization collects sales taxes. We will visit three states during our summer vacation.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been subject to much scrutiny and criticism lately.
Her business must comply with all county, state, and federal laws.
Rule 6. You may capitalize words such as department, bureau, and office if you have prepared your text in the following way:
Example: The Bureau of Land Management (Bureau) has some jurisdiction over Indian lands. The Bureau is finding its administrative role to be challenging.
Rule 7. Capitalize words derived from proper nouns. Example: I must take English and math. English is capitalized because it comes from the proper noun England, but math does not come from Mathland.
Rule 8. Capitalize the names of specific course titles. Example: I must take history and Algebra 2. (© 2009 GrammarBook.com)
Directions: Place three lines below the letter that needs to be capitalized.
1. The national labor union, the first one, was established in 1866.
2. william sylvis fought for the 8-hour workday.
3. In 1869, Terence V. Powderly was affiliated with the knights of labor; it gained influence and members, but they were blamed for the Haymarket Riot in Chicago.
4. The Haymarket Riot of 1886 turned americans against the labor unions. A bomb was thrown and the Knights of Labor were identified with anarchism and violence.
5. The american federation of labor advocated (promoted) strikes and boycotts in order to achieve their goal.
6. The international ladies garment workers union was formed in 1910; their success brought aid to families of victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911. (It also started the modern factory inspection system.)
7. Over 24, 000 strikes occurred in the United States during the 1800 and 1900s; labor unions supported free compulsory education and the removal of child labor from the workforce. This labor unions were popular in the east.
8. During the Homestead Strike in 1892, the carnegie steel company threatened to cut wages; workers picketed and management called in Pinkerton guards.
9. The Pullman Strike occurred because of wage cut; the strike spread and brought railroad traffic to a standstill in the west.
10. President cleveland sent troops to “protect the mail” and the federal government obtained court injunctions that forbade the union from striking.