Today in Labor History May 10

John Wilkes was imprisoned in 1768 for writing critically of the king. — _{Satirical engraving of Wilkes by William Hogarth. Pub Dom}

1830s-1850s

Today in Labor History May 10, 1768: People rioted in London when the authorities imprisoned John Wilkes. The police arrested him for writing an article criticizing the king. Wilkes was a British radical journalist and politician. He was a Member of Parliament at the time of his arrest. During the riot, government soldiers opened fire. As a result, they killed six or seven protesters. The event is known as the Massacre of St. George’s Fields.

Today in Labor History May 10, 1837, the Panic of 1837 began. — _{Whig cartoon of unemployed family with portraits of Democratic Presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren on the wall. By Henry Dacre (1820-?). Pub Dom}

May 10, 1837: The Panic of 1837 began on this date when banks suspended the payment of specie. It resulted in a depression that lasted until the mid-1840s. Thousands of workers lost their jobs. Additionally, a Hessian fly plague destroyed much of the wheat that year, worsening the hunger caused by joblessness.

Pontiac's attack on Fort Detroit. — _{A scene from the 1857 Indian Rebellion. By Granger. Pub Dom}

Today in Labor History May 10, 1857: India’s first War of Independence began on this day. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a significant, but unsuccessful, uprising against the British East India Company. It began as a mutiny within the Company’s own army. However, it quickly spread, stimulating other rebellions. The British didn’t fully suppress the uprising until June 1858, over a year later.

1860s

May 10, 1869: The nation’s first transcontinental railway line was finished. It joined the Union Pacific and Central Pacific lines at Promontory Point, Utah. Much of the work was done by poorly paid and poorly treated Chinese and Irish immigrants. For more on the abuse of Chinese laborers, see this article.

1880s-1890s

Today in Labor History May 10, 1887: UMW organizer Ginger Goodwin was born on this date. He was a labor activist and a member of the Socialist Party of Canada. Additionally, he was an antiwar activist. “War is simply part of the process of Capitalism,” he said. “Big financial interests will reap the victory, no matter how the war ends.” However, in spite of his protests, he was still drafted to fight in the First World War. In order to avoid conscription, he fled into the mountains, where he was murdered by a cop in 1918. Canada’s first General Strike began in response.

May 10, 1894: Pullman fired 3 workers for being on the grievance committee. As a result, the union called a strike that shut down the company a day later.

Today in Labor History May 10, 1898: U.S. and Canadian workers formed the Western Labor Union.

May 10, 1920: Dock workers in England refused to load armaments for use by the Allies against Russia. Communist agitator Sylvia Pankhurst was instrumental in the organizing leading up to this action. As a result of her agitating among the dockers, the authorities arrested and imprisoned her in 1921.

1920s-1930s

Today in Labor History May 10, 1922, the cops arrest 200 labor leaders in Chicago. — _{Timothy D. Murphy, Fred Mader, John Miller, and Cornelius Shea, during their murder trial in Chicago, 1922. Public Domain}

Today in Labor History May 10, 1922: Police arrested 200 labor leaders in Chicago for complicity in the murder of two policemen and the bombing of factories. Some of these labor leaders, like those in this photo, were also mobsters.

Nazi book purge. — _{Nazis plunder library of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, Director of the Institute for Sexual Research in Berlin. By Unknown author. U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Pub Dom}

Today in Writing History May 10, 1933: The Nazis staged massive public book burnings. In this photo, Nazis plunder the library of Dr. Magnus Hirshfeld, who played prominently in the gay and trans underground culture of Berlin in the 1920s. For a fascinating read on the uninhibited urban sexual experimentation of Weimar and pre-Weimar Berlin, read Gay Berlin, by Robert Beachy.

1980s

May 10, 1980: 50,000 marched for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman first introduced the amendment to Congress in 1923. It was reintroduced by Representative Martha Griffiths in 1971 and approved by both houses. However, when it was sent to the state legislatures, only 35 of the required 38 states approved it.

Today in Labor History May 10, 1980: 20,000 marched in a funeral procession for slain protesters in San Salvador, El Salvador.

1990s

May 10, 1993: UMW struck at selected U.S. mines.

Today in Writing History May 10, 1999: Shel Silverstein, American poet, author, and illustrator died on this day.

2000s

Today in Labor History May 10, 2005: A federal bankruptcy judge permitted United Airlines to abandon responsibility for pensions covering 120,000 employees.