We Shall be All; a History of the Industrial Workers of the WorldFor young rebels seeking an authentic American radical tradition, the IWW provides a solid heritage of revolutionary commitment and militant methods. Grappling with the issues of economic and social inequality which plague us yet today, the "Wobblies" employed violent strikes, struggles on street corners, picket lines for free speech and better working conditions, and stirring songs of protest in pursuit of their own vision of a Great (New) Society dedicated to the freedom and dignity of all men. Before W.W. I they were spreading the gospel of Poor Power, "teaching society's orphans and outcasts that power -- society's native force -- comes through organization, and that the poor must organize to help themselves." Dubofsky traces the IWW from its origins in the class war on the "industrial frontier" and the development from "pure and simple unionism" to revolutionary radicalism to its prewar heyday which culminated in the 1917 government raids and arrests that broke the back of the "Wobbly menace" and heralded its decline into a pale ghost of an organization disappearing into the "Haunted Halls" of American labor history. With its deliberate focus upon the revolutionary, aspects of Wobblyism, the book reveals much about the strengths and weaknesses of native radicalism and the ultimate tragedy for all humane revolutionaires in advanced societies who accept betterment for their followers today "at the expense of utopia tomorrow." Though Dubofsky approaches his material with a decided eye for the radical and the contemporarily relevant, he balances his sympathies with sufficient objectivity to make his book a worthy contribution.--Kirkus reviews. |
Contents
CHAPTER 2 | 19 |
The Class War on the Industrial Frontier | 36 |
From Pure and Simple Unionism | 57 |
Copyright | |
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We Shall be All: A History of the Industrial Workers of the World Melvyn Dubofsky Limited preview - 2000 |
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action agitators April Arizona arrested Attorney August Bisbee businessmen Butte Butte's California Chicago Coeur d'Alene Colorado conflict copper Debs December defense delegates DeLeon eight-hour day Elizabeth Gurley Flynn employers Ettor executive board February federal fight File Fitts Frank Little Frank Walsh free speech Gompers Governor harvest headquarters Ibid Idaho immigrants Industrial Union Industrial Worker International Socialist Review IWW convention IWW leaders IWW's jail January Joe Hill John July July 17 June Justice Department Labor Department labor movement labor organization Lawrence lumber industry lumber workers lumbermen March membership Mill Company Papers miners mining Miss Flynn Montana Moyer November October officials Paterson Peabody police President prison prosecution Puget Mill Company radical Ralph Chaplin Report repression revolution revolutionary September social society Solidarity Spokane strike strikers T. W. Gregory tion Trautmann trial United vigilantes W. B. Wilson wages Walsh Washington West Western Williams Wobblies York