August 2021

Uriah Stephens & the Knights of Labor Today in Labor History August 3, 1821: Uriah Stephens (1821-1882) was born in Cape May, New Jersey. He founded the Knights of Labor, one of the first successful nationwide unions. Stephens worked as a tailor in Philadelphia. In 1869, after the demise of the Garment Cutters’ Union, he […]

Today in Writing History August 1, 1819: Herman Melville was born. He was one of the greatest American writers of all time. The death of his merchant father in 1832 left his family destitute. So, he became a merchant seaman, having many of the same brutal and exploitative experiences other seamen had in those days. Rum,