The Great Upheaval Today in Labor History July 22, 1877: A General Strike began in St. Louis, as part of the national Great Upheaval. The St. Louis strike was the first General Strike in U.S. history. The communist Workingman’s Party was the main organizer. In addition to joining in solidarity with striking rail workers, thousands in […]
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The Great Upheaval Today in Labor History July 21, 1877: 30,000 Chicago workers rallied on Market Street during the Great Upheaval wave of strikes occurring throughout the country. Future anarchist and Haymarket martyr Albert Parsons spoke to the crowd. He advocated the use of the ballot to obtain “state control of the means of production.”
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Kett’s Rebellion Today in Labor History July 20, 1549: Kett’s Rebellion against the enclosures began. Insurgents began destroying enclosures in Morley St. Botolph on July 6. When they attacked the estate of John Flowerdew, on July 20, he tried to bribe them into attacking the estate of Robert Kett, instead. However, the plan backfired when
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Today in Indigenous History July 19, 1817: Georg Anton Schäffer failed in his attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Hawaii for the Russian-American Company. The attack lasted 2 years, but Native Hawaiians fiercely resisted. Ultimately they forced him to concede defeat and flee Kauai. As a result, the company lost 200,000 rubles. 1840s Today in Women’s History, July 19, 1848: The famous
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Today in Labor and Writing History July 16, 1862: Ida B Wells was born, Holly Springs, Mississippi. She was most famous for her nation-wide anti-lynching campaign, launched after the murder of three black businessmen in Memphis, Tennessee. Wells was born into slavery, in Mississippi and spent her lifetime fighting racism and prejudice. She worked as a
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