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              The city of New York has always been at the center United States economic activity. In the colonial era, labor unions were organized along the lines of traditional European craft guilds. The transition from guild to labor union began soon after the American Revolution. Pre Civil War business owners feared unions and used the government to combat growing labor unrest. In New York City several large trade unions organized before the Civil War. By the time of the war's outbreak in South Carolina, these New York locals were large enough to be called national unions with branches from St. Louis to Boston. The war and New York City political realities produced ripe conditions for the creation of several other trade union movements.