This guide is optional and worth bonus points on the next quiz for students completing guide in its entirety by quiz date. Seattle general strike 35,000 shipyard workers went on strike. Had it not been for the boston police strike of september, 1919, calvin coolidge probably would have become just another in the succession of republican. Boston police strike over 70% of bostons 1,500 policemen went on strike seeking wage increases and the right to unionize governor calvin. Studying the broad reaction to labor strikes in the early 1920s requires a broad selection of. The boston police department goes on strike the infamous boston police strike of 1919 begins, causing an uproar around the nation and confirming the growing influence of unions on american life. Boston police strike, 1919, strike of about 80 percent of boston s police force protesting the opposition to their attempt to organize a union. There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time. Labor strike, america in the 1920s, primary sources for. We were tasked with documenting the lives of the officers involved in the police strike of 1919. The boston police strike the boston police had not been given a raise since the beginning of. This book provides two sometimes contradictory primary source reports on the 1919 strike. Party s ticket in 1920 as hardings vicepresidential running mate. This portion of my website presents nineteen nineteen.
Share a photograph or story with the 1919 boston police. The boston police strike happened in massachusetts during 1919. Use this form to submit a photograph of a striker from your personal collection andor share a story about a striker or memory of the strike. It is an extraordinary moment in the history of boston, as well as an important event in the nations labor history. The entire boston police force deserted their posts, leaving the city virtually defenseless. Collective bargaining had long been viewed with suspicion by many americans, whose suspicions were heightened by the worker revolution in russia and efforts to spread communism. On september 9, boston police department officers went on strike at 5. Dennis lehanes novel the given day is partly set during the boston police strike. The policemen were not being unreasonable with their demands. He hired veterans from world war i to replace them and gave them same bonuses that the. Jun 29, 2017 by nina rodwin in the fall semester, my hist 600 class had the opportunity to participate in a collaborative project between umass boston and the boston police department archives.
Boston police strike united states history britannica. Most frightening strike in the minds of many americans. Boston police strike, 1919, strike of about 80 percent of bostons police force. If law enforcement went on strike, anarchy might result police went on strike in 37 other cities. Start studying boston police strike causes of the gd. Try searching on jstor for other items related to this book. Relying on volunteer genealogists, the 1919 boston police strike project aims to document and preserve the lives of the police officers. Selected resources documenting the 1919 boston police strike. David wieneke strikes and the red scare in 1919 america was still recovering from from the great world war. Research team work site 1919 boston police strike project. There were representatives who ask for raises and got fired for asking. Labor strike, america in the 1920s, primary sources for teachers. In 1630, puritan colonists from england founded boston, which quickly became the political, commercial, financial, religious and educational center of the new england region.
Few periods in american history have been so dramatic, so fraught with mystery, or so bristling with fear and hysteria as were the days of the great red scare that. He refused to reinstate police officers who had been fired for striking, saying. Boston police strike, 1919, strike of about 80 percent of bostons police force protesting the opposition to their attempt to organize a union. The 1919 boston police strike project is collecting photographs of strikers and personal stories to include in our biographical database. Amidst a nationwide strike wave, the local policemens organization, known as the boston social club, decided to affiliate with the american federation of labour afl when nineteen of their leaders were fired by the police commissioner, the club members voted 1,42 to strike. The boston police were denied the right unionize or get raises. Before the strike boston police had inadequate salaries, long hours and decrepit working conditions. Police commissioner edwin upton curtis denied that police officers had any right to form a union, much less one affiliated with a larger organization like the american federation of labor afl. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading a city in terror. Calli room, 4 th floor, healey library, umass boston campus when. This led to coolidge becoming hardings vice presidential running mate in 1920. The brahmins, the irish and the boston police strike of 1919.
Boston police strike by the fall of 1919, a series of strikes had hit the united states as unions attempted to gain higher wages to adjust for wartime inflation. Over 70% of bostons 1,500 policemen went on strike seeking wage increases and the right to unionize. The boston police strike, long forgotten and too long ignored, is here described with great drama and verve by francis russell. The strike that made a president american heritage. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Partys ticket in 1920 as hardings vicepresidential running mate. On the evening of 9 september, the police began the strike.
Howard zinn, author of a peoples history of the united states francis russell is wonderfully aware of the subtle but important distinctions of class. Jul 27, 2019 the boston police department goes on strike the infamous boston police strike of 1919 begins, causing an uproar around the nation and confirming the growing influence of unions on american life. The 1919 seattle general strike, city and labor newspaper coverage pdf. Boston police strike, seattle general strike, just to name a few open shop.
They sought recognition for their trade union and improvements in wages and working conditions. The boston police strike in the context of american labor. The world had suffered greatly during the war, and the effects of that war could be felt strongly in the united states. The american revolution erupted in boston, as the british retaliated harshly for the boston tea party and the patriots fought back. On september 9, 1919 boston police officers went on strike in hopes of gaining long promised improvements in wages and working conditions. The police union went on strike to protest the commissioners efforts to break their union and prevent the american federation of labour from supporting them. During the 1920s and 1930s, irving fajans, a department store sales clerk in new york city. The 1920s witnessed a weakened and conservative labor movement. On september 9, 1919, more than 1,100 boston police officers went on strike for fair wages, decent working conditions and their. Calvin coolidge and the 1919 boston police strike kindle edition by russell, rosalind. In the boston police strike, boston police officers went on strike on september 9, 1919. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. At the same time that police reformers were promoting bostons police department as a model to be emulated by other american police forces, however, growing.
No issue ignited the partisan divide in postwar america more than the nationwide labor strikes of 19191921. Boston police strike for better working conditions, 1919. Of the departments 1,544 personnel, 1,117 72 percent refused to report for work. The boston police strike was caused by the same factors as most strikes in the 1920s.
The police union members responded by voting 12 to 2 in favour of a strike. As a result, the remaining policemen went on strike. The turbulent 20s ebook info union city high school. The boston po lice strike of 1919 by brian hahn and amanda.
The boston police force, which had sought affiliation with the american federation of labor after world war i, was denied the right to unionize by the citys police commissioner. Thompson, the making of the english working class new york. Calvin coolidge captured national attention in 1919 during a strike by the boston police. None of the strikers ever worked as boston police officers again. Boston police, i am primarily interested in the strike itself, and the reasons it. When practically all of bostons police officers went on strike in september 1919, they did so for reasons similar to those that have. Coolidge fired the police officers who went on strike. Author talks james degiacomo, 1919 boston police strike. The history of boston plays a central role in american history.
Minnesota archive editions uses digital technology to make longunavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original university of minnesota press editions. The governor of massachusetts, calvin coolidge, said it was wrong to strike against the public safety. Sep 10, 2012 the red scare and the boston police strike of 1919 members of the boston police department, 1919 the year 1919 was one those years in american history like 1776, 1860, 1946, 1968, and 2001 one racked by social upheaval and fear. Choose from 19 different sets of boston police strike. With its police off the job, boston erupted in violence and looting.
Coolidge became a national hero vice president in less than 2 years iii. For early 1920s games it gives a great excuse for the boston police to need help, what with nearly the entire police department being new at their jobs after coolidge fired almost all of. Some worked between 73 to 98 hrs per week with no pay for parade duty. On september 9 and 10, 1919, boston police struck for better working conditions and wages and the right to associate with the afl. The boston police department goes on strike the infamous boston police strike of 1919 begins, causing an uproar around the nation and confirming the growing influence of. Some hailed the strike as another victory for the bolsheviks. Calvin coolidge and the 1919 boston police strike is on my reading list i cant vouch for it but it is a major event in citys history and worth researching in some form. Research team work site about the strike umass boston blog.
Html version of the thesiscreated in 1997with the pdf you are now. Edwin upton curtis was the police comissioners who denied these rights. Attorney james degiacomo talks about the 1919 boston police strike at the cohasset public library. Their strike made an inconspicuous governor, calvin coolidge, known throughout america, turning him into a national hero and, eventually, a president. The boston social club, an organization formed within the force in 19go6 to give the men a bargaining agency. Men back from the war flooded the labor market which further diminished workers earning power. The boston police department goes on strike history. On september 9, 1919, an american nightmare came true. I wrote this essay in the spring of 1992 as my undergraduate honors thesis. Price inflation and the cost of living had increased far beyond wages. Apr 19, 20 attorney james degiacomo talks about the 1919 boston police strike at the cohasset public library. Jul 15, 2011 on september 9, boston police department officers went on strike at 5. I hope that the intervening ten years and my graduate education have helped me produce more sophisticated, better written works of history. Boston police strike simple english wikipedia, the free.
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