The outside influences were evident as early as the 1870's and 1880's, when many States established boards of arbitration. The same forces were at work when Congress passed legislation to prevent railroad labor disputes, when President Roosevelt created the Anthracite Board of Conciliation, and when both Federal and State governments moved toward compulsory arbitration during and after the First World War. However, once parties decided to use arbitration they had great freedom to structure the form, scope, and jurisdiction of their arbitration system. Moreover, the law seldom enforced and only rarely interfered with agreements made during arbitration. In this sense, labor arbitration can be said to be autonomous. However, a more widespread misconception is that the existence, widespread acceptance, and present form of labor arbitration date from the War Labor Board of World War II. In fact, well before the start of the war, labor and management were largely convinced that grievance arbitration could be mutually advantageous. Nearly three-quarters of all collective bargaining agreements contained arbitration clauses. Thus, the early history of American labor arbitration ended in 1941, when its modern history began. A total of 256 case notes are provided.