Labor History

Today in Labor History February 21, 1797: In the wake of the French Revolution, 1,400 French soldiers invaded Britain. They came to support the Society of United Irishmen in the Battle of Fishguard. A force of only 500 British reservists defeated them within two days. This was also the last time that a foreign army […]

1800s Today in Labor History February 19, 1807: The authorities arrested former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr for treason. They alleged that he was behind a plot to create an independent country in the southwest of the U.S., but had to acquit him for lack of evidence. Some believed he intended to take Texas

Today in Labor History February 18, 1885: Mark Twain published the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 1940s Today in Labor History February 18, 1943: The Nazis arrested the members of the White Rose movement. The activist group called for opposition to the Nazi regime through an anonymous leaflet and graffiti campaign.  The Nazis put on a show trial and refused

Today in Labor History February 17, 1906: The authorities arrested “Big Bill” Haywood and two other union members on trumped up charges for the murder of former Idaho Governor Frank Stuenenberg. Clarence Darrow successfully defended them. He told jurors, “If at the behest of this mob you should kill Bill Haywood, he is mortal, he

Today in Labor History February 15, 1764: the city of St. Louis was established in Spanish Louisiana (now Missouri). In the 1800s, St. Louis would grow to become the second largest port in the U.S. and one of the major centers of labor organizing. In 1877, during the Great Train Strike, black and white workers