Persuasion evolved from fear as a more humane form of motivation. The American Industrial Revolution (1877 to 1913) was an amazing time of growth in America. The population was growing at a staggering rate, 31,443,321 in 1860, 76,212,168 in 1900 and 92,228,496 in 1910. Railroads, the epitome of industrialization, expanded from about 30,000 miles of track before the Civil War to nearly 270,000 miles in 1900. The industrial labor force nearly tripled between 1880 and 1910 to about 8 million.

Large factories, which had existed only in the textile industry before the Civil War, increasingly became more common in a variety of industries. Labor was in high demand to run the new industries. Unfortunately, the continued population growth spurred by immigration helped keep the value of individual workers low, as there was a ready supply of people to fill the factory jobs.

Managers at these large factories took advantage of the abundant labor pool. In exchange for a weekly paycheck, managers persuaded the unskilled laborers to work long hours on unbearable jobs in unsafe working conditions. This abuse fueled the birth of unions in an attempt to offset the persuasive power company management wielded over the workforce.

Today in the United States, laws have been enacted that do a robust job protecting a worker's rights. These laws have unquestionably made the benefits originally derived from unions obsolete and drove the recent decrease in union membership. However, persuasion is still alive and well within organizations today as an extremely effective motivational method. Chances are you are persuaded by your boss to perform your job well in exchange for job security and hopefully an annual pay increase.