Primary Sources
Articles Deland, Lorin F. "The Lawrence Strike: A Study." The Atlantic, May 1912, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1912/05/the-lawrence-strike-a-study/529506/. Accessed 13 Jan. 2020.
This article was interesting to me because it showed the perspective of a person trying to write as realistically and without prejudice as possible about an event that many people got very emotional about. Every other party involved was very extremist in its views; according to mill owners, the strike was completely unprecedented and nobody except the government was to blame, but to the strikers, the mill owners were evil, corrupt, and out of touch with the human race, getting extremely wealthy while the workers literally starved to death.
"Has Organized Labor Done It Full Duty in Lawrence, Mass?" The Textile Worker, vol. 1, June 1912, pp. 7-10. Hathi Trust, babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.li1k3d&view=1up&seq=17. Accessed 10 Jan. 2020.
This article gives the opinion of less radical labor unions and activists on the strike. It was one of my first sources not created by the government which gave a negative view of the strike, which was interesting because I had not expected anyone besides mill owners and the government to be displeased by it. I quoted this article in my Dissenting Opinion section to express the opinions of the AFL and UTW.
“High Rents Behind Lawrence Strike,” New York Times, 1 February 1912, p. 3.
This article introduces a new side to the descriptions of inadequate living conditions by telling about the high rents and bad housing in Lawrence. It also described the extent of the strike and how many people were out of work. I quoted this article on my Breaking Barriers page.
“Mill Men Refuse to Meet Strikers,” New York Times, 25 January 1912, p. 4.
This article shows the obstinacy of the mill owners and representatives, and their unwillingness to negotiate with the strikers. It also provides details about Haywood’s plans for the strike, such as that he was considering trying to cut off trains full of supplies from Lawrence in an effort to starve the militias and prevent the mills from getting fuel for heating and lighting.
“Police Clubs Keep Lawrence Waifs In,” New York Times, 25 February 1912, p. 2.
This newspaper article was a description of the violence of the police towards women when they tried to send their children to safety in other cities. It also chronicled the public outrage that the children were taken from their families, declared to be ‘neglected’ and sent to the municipal home. There was also a copy of a telegram sent to a socialist congressman to encourage a congressional investigation.
Walter M. Pratt, “The Lawrence Revolution,” New England Magazine 46 (March 1912), pp. 6-16.
This article written by police lieutenant Walter Pratt helped me understand the perspectives of the city officials and militia officers. Although extremely biased against the strikers (calling them “the inflamed multitude of frenzied aliens”), it helped me understand the measures taken against the strikers and the extent of martial law in Lawrence. I quoted the article in my Dissenting Opinion section.
“The Worst Enemy,” Il Proletario, 12 March 1912, p. 2.
This newspaper, edited by Arturo Giovannitti, one of the men arrested with Joe Ettor, ran an article attacking John Golden of the United Textile Workers (affiliated with the AFL). It showed the rivalry between the United Textile Workers (who generally accepted more skilled workers) and the IWW that underlied the strike.
Books Ebert, Justus. The Trial of a New Society, Being a Review of the Celebrated Ettor-Giovannitti-Caruso Case, Beginning with the Lawrence Textile Strike That Caused It and including the General Strike That Grew out of It. I.W.W. Publishing Bureau, 1913. Hathi Trust, babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=ucw.ark:/13960/t2w37vs93&view=1up&seq=1. Accessed 10 Jan. 2020.
This book had a lot of figures and very vivid descriptions of life in the mills. It described diseases and other effects of the poor wages and nutrition. It also provided insight into how the IWW and workers thought that the Lawrence strike and the trial of three of its leaders had symbolic value.
McPherson, John Bruce. The Lawrence Strike of 1912. Boston, Rockwell and Churchill Press, 1912. Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/13003520/. Accessed 16 Dec. 2019.
This book about the strike written in 1912 was useful because it provided some details about the beginning and causes of the strike that I did not find in recent sources. Also, this book had a section on the problems in the textile industry that had been going on at the time and played a role in causing the strike.
Hearings United States, Congress, House. The Strike at Lawrence, Mass. Hearings before the Committee on Rules of the House of Representatives on House Resolutions 409 and 433, March 2-7, 1912. Government Publishing Office, 2 Mar. 1912. Hathi Trust, catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001432313. Accessed 16 Dec. 2019. 62nd Congress, 2nd session, 409-433.
The record of these hearings provided reasoning as to why the government tried to stop children from getting on the train. It was interesting to hear the suspicions of kidnapping and illegal commerce in children that officials thought should stop the exodus. The worker testimonies gave me information about conditions in the mills and what everyday life was like for operatives. I quoted the testimonies of Josephine Liss, Charles Vasiersky, Camella Teoli, and Samuel Lipson.
Letters “Letters Between William M. Wood and the Strike Committee,” ed. Charles P. Neill, Report on the Strike of Textile Workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912, 62nd Congress, 2nd Session, Senate Document 870, (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1912), pp. 39-42.
This series of letters between William Wood, the owner of the largest textile mill in Lawrence, and Joe Ettor’s strike committee helped me understand the mill owner’s and striker’s perspectives during the strike. I quoted from a letter sent by William Wood on my Historical Context page.
Pictures & Multimedia Beard, Frank. "A Perilous Situation." EHistory, Ohio State University, ehistory.osu.edu/exhibitions/1912/labor_problem/default. Accessed 24 Feb. 2020. Cartoon.
This political cartoon illustrates the attitude of the general public towards the labor movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I was surprised that the cartoon was not more sympathetic to the workers; instead it focused on the economy as a whole being damaged by the battle between capital and labor. I used this photograph on my Historical Context webpage.
Charging Strikers with Bayonets. 1912. Digital Commonwealth, www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:3j333t90k. Accessed 24 Feb. 2020.
I included this photograph on my Breaking Barriers page because it is a good example of what everyday life was like after Joe Ettor was arrested. Eyewitness accounts recalled being told to “move along” by militiamen when they went out in the street, and gatherings of three or more people were banned.
Edison, Thomas. "January 1912: Film Clip of the Lawrence Mill Workers, Taken by Thomas Edison." Lawrence History Center, www.lawrencehistory.org/video/edison. Accessed 22 Apr. 2020.
I put this video of strikers crossing a bridge on my Breaking Barriers webpage. It illustrates the numbers and enthusiasm of the strikers, and shows why guards and city officials were worried by the strike.
For God and Country Parade. 1912. Digital Commonwealth, www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:cc08j341v. Accessed 24 Feb. 2020.
I put these two pictures of the 1912 Columbus Day parade on the Dissenting Opinion page of my website. The parade shows how scared and displeased the mayor and government officials were about the IWW because the reasoning behind the parade was to create a wave of patriotism to calm the aftermath of the strike.
Joseph Caruso, Joseph Ettor, and Arturo Giovannitti in Handcuffs. 1912.Digital Commonwealth, www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:cc08j3335. Accessed 24 Feb. 2020.
This picture of the three men charged with Annie LoPizzo’s death while they were still in jail was included on my Breaking Barriers page. It shows that the government was unfairly prejudiced against strikers because these men were held in jail for six months until their trial, and during the trial they were kept in cages in the courtroom.
Lawrence Strikers. 1912. Digital Commonwealth - Massachusetts Collections Online, www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:cc08j317s. Accessed 17 May 2020.
I used this picture as a title banner for my entire website. It illustrates the spirit and enthusiasm of the strikers and dispels some of the claims of Lawrence’s public officials that they are anti-American; the uncropped version of the picture shows five American flags in the foreground.
Massachusetts Militiamen with Fixed Bayonets Surround a Parade of Peaceful Strikers. 1912. Alexander Street. Accessed 24 Feb. 2020.
I used this image on my Breaking Barriers to emphasize how the militias used violence against strikers, even when they were not doing anything that could be construed as riotous. It supports my conclusion that police and militias used unnecessary and unwarranted violence during the strike.
Paterson Silk Strikers. 1913. American Experience, PBS, www.pbs.org/wgbh/ americanexperience/features/goldman-paterson-silk-strike-1913/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2020.
I included this picture on my Short Term Impact page because the Paterson Silk Strike was inspired by and used principles from the Lawrence Textile Strike. The banner over the girl’s shoulder probably reads “abolish wage slavery”, a slogan used in the Paterson strike.
Some of over 100 Children of Lawrence Strikers Preparing to Travel to New York City to Find Temporary Homes. 1912. Alexander Street. Accessed 24 Feb. 2020.
I used this photograph on my Breaking Barriers webpage because it shows the role that the children’s exodus played in getting support and public sympathy for the strike. Children fleeing Lawrence were greeted by cheering crowds and parades wherever they went.
Workers in the Wood Mill. 1910. Digital Public Library of America, dp.la/exhibitions/breadandroses/workerslife/?item=16. Accessed 24 Feb. 2020.
The first impression given by this photograph is of a dull, musty, dirty room, full of endless rows of looms. I included this picture on my Historical Context page to emphasize the poor working conditions.
Posters Anarchy and [illegible]. City Central Committee #20 I.W.W., 1912. Digital Commonwealth - Massachusetts Collections Online, www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:5h7410514. Accessed 27 Jan. 2020.
This broadside issued by the IWW was an attack on the city officials for siding against the strikers. However, it did help me understand the viewpoint of the government because it had many quotes from various people, all of which felt the IWW was a “demon of anarchy and socialism”, which stirred up riot and was not in the best interests of the country. I used a quote from the mayor of Lawrence in my Dissenting Opinion section.
A Proclamation! Is Massachusetts in America? Textile Workers Industrial Union, I.W.W., 1912. Digital Public Library of America, dp.la/exhibitions/breadandroses/strike. Accessed 25 Feb. 2020.
I put a picture of this broadside on my Long Term Impact page because it expresses the public indignation about how militias and police treated the strikers. The sentiment that the rights of strikers were being taken away by military suppression in most strikes encouraged the 1935 National Labor Relations Act to be created.
Reports Sanborn, Frank Berry, 1865-, Robert E Todd, Francis H McLean, and Mass.) White Fund (Lawrence. The Report of the Lawrence Survey: Studies In Relation to Lawrence, Massachusetts, Made In 1911. Lawrence, Mass., 1912.
This survey of living conditions and water quality in Lawrence, taken a year before the strike, gave me information on overcrowding in Lawrence and the terrible condition of homes. It was very informative to have a survey of living conditions from before the strike because many post-strike reports focus on problems that directly caused the strike such as inadequate wages.
Senate, U.S. Bureau of Labor. Report on Strike of Textile Workers, in Lawrence, Mass. in 1912. Government Publishing Office, 1912. Hathi Trust,
babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo1.ark:/13960/t5m90sz2w&view=1up&seq=5. Accessed 19 Dec. 2019.
62nd Congress, 2nd session, Senate Report 870.
This report contained many useful statistics on what the conditions were like, and also average rates of wages compared to food costs in Lawrence at the time of the strike. It also had transcripts of proclamations from the strike committee.
Secondary Sources Articles Hensley, Randi. "Bread and Roses-The Lawrence Strike." International Socialist Review, no. 86, Jan. 2013, isreview.org/issue/86/bread-and-roses. Accessed 11 Dec. 2019.
This article gave me useful statistics about the demographics of immigrants in Lawrence at the time of the strike, which helped to show why people thought it would be so difficult to organize the workers. It also revealed that contrary to popular belief, some promises mill owners made to the strikers were later broken. It contained the quote from Elizabeth Gurley Flynn on my Historical Context page. The quotes from William Wood, reporter Mary Heaton Vorse, William Haywood, the New York Sun, the Department of Labor, and Joe Ettor were also from this article.
Hiltzik, Michael. "Column: Bread & Roses: Elizabeth Warren's Presidential Announcement Honors a Great Event in Labor History." Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2019, www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-warren-labor-20190208-story.html. Accessed 14 Jan. 2020.
This article proves how the strike is still considered significant today because it is used as a symbol by major presidential candidates. The article has useful background information on the strike too. It contained quotes from labor historian Erik Loomis which helped explain the significance of the strike, but I did not include these in my website.
Kirk, Bill. "Mill Strike of 1912 had Local, National, International Implications." Eagle Tribune, 8 Jan. 2012, www.eagletribune.com/news/mill-strike-of-had-local-national-international-implications/article_85bcc0 5a-f5e9-50f0-a8eb-dcc28c11eb02.html. Accessed 16 Dec. 2019.
This article was useful to me by describing long term impacts of the strike and how it led to the creation of the National Labor Relations Board and other labor laws in 1935. It also described the time period and how it affected the strike in Lawrence. I found the quote from Robert Forrant which I put on my Long Term Impact page here.
Piascik, Andy. "Bread and Roses a Hundred Years On." The Industrial Worker, no. 1743, Mar. 2012. Industrial Workers of the World, www.iww.org/content/bread-and-roses-hundred-years. Accessed 12 Dec. 2019.
This article helped me see the perspective on the strike by the labor union that organized it. It also helped explain the long term impacts of how principles and tactics from the strike are being used today in the Occupy movement. I quoted this article on my Long Term Impacts page.
Books Foner, Philip S. Volume III: The Policies and Practices of the American Federation of Labor, 1900-1909. New York, International Publishers, 1964.
Although this book did not reference the IWW or the Lawrence strike, it did describe in detail the vigorous “open shop” campaign to destroy unions carried out by companies during the period 1900-1909 and the general atmosphere of the early 20th century. It also included general statistics on union membership and the percentage of strikes won.
Watson, Bruce. Bread and Roses- Mills, Migrants, and the Struggle for the American Dream. Penguin Group, 2005.
This book had many quotes from various people involved in the strike, including anonymous ones from
Lawrence citizens. I used two of these in my website; one in the Dissenting Opinion section, the other on my Short Term Impact page. The book also had a lot of detail about events in the strike such as the children’s exodus and the arrest of Joe Ettor. It introduced the viewpoints of all the parties involved.
Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States, 1492-Present. HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.
I mainly used this book for general information about the IWW and its history. It also helped me see how extraordinary it was that this strike succeeded when so many failed after they were quenched with violence, or simply dragged on until the people lost enthusiasm. This book also contained the quotes from John Golden that I used on my Long Term Impacts page.
Pictures & Multimedia 1912 Strikers Monument. 2012. Digital Public Library of America, dp.la/ exhibitions/breadandroses/end/remembering?item=112. Accessed 23 Feb. 2020.
I included this picture of the 1912 Strikers Monument on my Long Term Impact page because it shows that Lawrence appreciates and honors the history of the strike. Lawrence also hosts an annual Bread and Roses festival.
Occupy Protesters. 4 Oct. 2011. Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ ezra-klein/post/who-are-the-99-percent/2011/08/25/gIQAt87jKL_blog.html. Accessed 23 Feb. 2020.
I added this picture to my Long Term Impact page to illustrate my statement that principles from the Lawrence Textile Strike are used today in the Occupy movement.
Websites Adelman, William J. "The Haymarket Affair." Illinois Labor History Society, www.illinoislaborhistory.org/the-haymarket-affair. Accessed 24 Feb. 2020.
This website explained how the bomb thrown at the Haymarket gave an excuse for martial law and
violence to be used against strikers and unions across the nation. It also gave a general description of the labor movement at the time and described some of the main causes unions were fighting for, such as the hour day.
"Bread and Roses." Zinn Education Project, www.zinnedproject.org/materials/ bread-and-roses-song/. Accessed 15 May 2020.
This website described how the phrase ‘bread and roses’ had become connected to the Lawrence strike and helped me understand the origins and meaning of the saying. I found the full text of James Oppenheim’s poem “Bread and Roses”, which I put on my Long Term Impact page, here.
"Flashback Photo: The 1912 Bread and Roses Strike." New England Historical Society, www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/flashback-photo-the-1912-bread-and-roses-strike/. Accessed 9 Jan. 2020.
This webpage had useful details about the strike, such as statistics of malnutrition and illness for the workers. It also had several pictures, including one of a poster/letter encouraging a general strike until Ettor and Giovannitti were released from jail.
Forrant, Robert. "The Real Bread and Roses Strike Story Missing from Textbooks." Zinn Education Project, 2013, www.zinnedproject.org/materials/bread-and-roses-strike-story/. Accessed 9 Jan. 2020.
This website puts a lot of emphasis on the unity of the workers and how they stood up to the firmly entrenched mill owners and police by being internally well organized. It describes the networks of soup kitchens and nurseries that made the strike self-sufficient. This website also describes how the strike is downplayed and misinterpreted in most textbooks.
Golin, Steve. "The Paterson Silk Strike of 1913." PBS, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/goldman-paterson-silk-strike-1913/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2020.
I used this website for background information on the Paterson Silk Strike, which had been partially inspired by the Lawrence strike. I used a picture of a group of strikers from the Library of Congress on my Short Term Impact page.
Lawrence History Center, University of Massachusetts Lowell History Department. Bread and Roses Strike of 1912: Two Months in Lawrence, Massachusetts, that Changed Labor History. Digital Public Library of America. April 2013. https://dp.la/exhibitions /breadandroses.
This online exhibition could be one of the most useful sources I used in my project. In addition to a detailed and informative secondary text, there were many quotes, pictures, and electronically scanned documents that will be useful for my project. The quote from Dr. Elizabeth Shapleigh was found here.
Lawrence Public Library. "Lawrence, Mass. Textile Strike of 1912." Digital Commonwealth - Massachusetts Collections Online, www.digitalcommonwealth.org/collections/commonwealth:3j333t81m. Accessed 1 Apr. 2020.
This website gave me a general summary of the Lawrence strike. It was useful because it does not lean towards the perspective of any other groups involved in the strike. It describes in detail the cause of the ‘For God and Country Parade’, which was partially called as a counter to an IWW parade.
"National Labor Relations Act." National Labor Relations Board, www.nlrb.gov/how-we-work/national-labor-relations-act. Accessed 24 Feb. 2020.
This website contained the full text of the National Labor Relations Act, and was useful to me because I noticed that some of the issues that were resolved by the NLRA were grievances of the textile workers. Part of this site also described the purpose of the NLRA.
"1912: Competing Visions for America-The Labor Question." EHistory, Ohio State University, ehistory.osu.edu/exhibitions/1912/labor_problem/default. Accessed 24 Feb. 2020.
This online exhibition gave me information on the politics and attitude of the general public in the years leading up to the strike. I hadn’t yet encountered the perspective that the middle-class public at the time felt that strikes and the labor movement at the time were going on over their heads, so this source added another side to my research.
O'Donnell, Edward T. "Are We Living in the Gilded Age 2.0?" History Channel, A&E Television Networks, 15 June 2018, www.history.com/news/ second-gilded-age-income-inequality. Accessed 13 May 2020.
In comparing the Gilded Age to today, this webpage helped me understand the general context leading up to the Lawrence strike; extreme inequality, labor unrest, the definite, locked classes of ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’. It provided the statistics about wealth inequality that I used on my Historical Context page.
"The Pemberton Mill Disaster." New England Historical Society, www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/pemberton-mill-disaster/. Accessed 14 May 2020.
This webpage described an industrial disaster which had occurred in Lawrence roughly 50 years before the strike. It explains how the collapse of the Pemberton mill was a result of negligence and greed on the part of the factory owners; there were malformed iron columns supporting the structure, and the owners of the mill crammed far more heavy textile machinery onto the fourth floor than the structure could support. I put a brief account of this on my Historical Context page to show the greed and lack of care for the lives of workers that continued into the 1912 strike.