Labor History

Today in Labor History February 7, 1817: Frederick Douglass was born on this date in Tuckahoe, Maryland. After escaping slavery, he became a national leader of the abolition movement. He also supported the women’s suffrage movement and ran for vice president as running mate to Victoria Woodhull on the Equal Rights Party ticket. In addition […]

Today in Labor History February 6, 1694: The Brazilian authorities captured Dandara, warrior queen  of the runaway slaves in Quilombo dos Palmares. She committed suicide to avoid being forced back into slavery. Quilombo dos Palmares was a community of Afro-Brazilian people who freed themselves from enslavement. The community survived for nearly 90 years, before the government finally suppressed

1910s-1950s Today in Labor History February 5, 1917: U.S. Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1917 over President Wilson’s veto. Also known as the Asiatic Barred Zone Act, it was one of many anti-Asian laws passed by Congress between the 1860s and World War II. However, there were plenty of other xenophobic, nativist and anti-left

Today in Labor History February 4, 1794: The French legislature abolished slavery throughout all the regions of the French First Republic. However, in 1802, they reestablished slavery in the French West Indies. 1860s-1890s Today in Labor History February 4, 1869: Labor leader and Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) co-founder William D. “Big Bill” Haywood was born. Haywood started mining

Today in Labor History February 3, 1908: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that union boycotts violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. 1910s Today in Labor History February 3, 1910: Mary Harris “Mother” Jones addressed Milwaukee brewery workers during a two-month stint working alongside women bottle-washers while on leave from the United Mine Workers: “Condemned to slave