Labor History

1890s Today in Labor History August 7, 1890: Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was born in Concord, New Hampshire. Flynn joined the IWW in 1907, two years after its formation, and quickly became one of their best organizers. She was instrumental in the Patterson Silk Strike (1913). In 1909, during the Spokane Free Speech fight, she chained herself […]

Today in Labor History August 5, 1842: The “Plug Plot” riots began in England in response to high unemployment, high food prices and declining wages. There was a spontaneous strike wave of coal miners, weavers and spinners culminating in a general strike. The riot got its name when the plugs were pulled out of factory

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,

Today in History July 31, 1703: The authorities placed write Daniel Defoe in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel. They did it because he published a politically satirical pamphlet. Instead of stones, people pelted him with flowers. Defoe’s most famous book, “Robinson Crusoe,” (1719) has been translated more than any other book in history, other than the Bible. He also