1929 Loray Mill Strike Remembered
For a taste of one of the events explored in my forthcoming book -- Strike! The Radical Insurrections of Ellen Dawson -- please read my essay on the Loray Mill Strike published today by the History News Network.
http://www.hnn.us/articles/124925.html
http://www.hnn.us/articles/124925.html
Very good article. I have read two books recently that dealt with labor issues in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The first was "American Lightning" which dealt with the bombing of the LA Times building in 1910. The second was "The Day Wall Street Exploded" which dealt specifically with the bombing on Wall Street in 1920 but also more generally with labor strife before the bombing. What amazed me was how much bombing was going on in the US at that time. Almost from the moment that dynamite was invented, bombings were going on across the country. And although I was generally aware of the type of actions used against unions, I was shocked by the brutality of it all. It really was an all out war by capitalists against the struggling worker who looked to anarchists and communists as their only protectors.
ReplyDeleteI am really looking forward to reading your book.
I am the daughter of Sophie Melvin, one of the women arrested in Gastonia in 1929. I was glad to read this brief article, if only to remind others of the vision of the organizers and the courage of Sophie and others.
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