Early 20th century activism
Joe Hill photos Photos of the Morrison family Joe Hill trial images
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William "Big Bill" Haywood
William "Big Bill" Haywood, a founder of the Industrial Workers of the World, is seen in a long coat and bowler hat as he leads a strike parade in Lowell, Mass., in 1912.
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Bomb plot
Arthur Caron, second from left, and Charles Plunkett, left of Caron, are seen with other Industrial Workers of the World members in New York.
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Fatal blast
A bomb exploded at this apartment at 1626 Lexington Ave. in New York City.
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Joseph Ettor
Joseph Ettor, a prominent organizer with the IWW, speaks to a group of striking barbers in New York City on May 17, 1913.
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Alexander Berkman
Prominent anarchist Alexander Berkman speaks during an Industrial Workers of the World rally on May 1, 1908.
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IWW rally
A large number of Industrial Workers of the World members rally in New York on April 11, 1914.
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Elizabeth Gurley Flynn
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was a prominent speaker and organizer in the Industrial Workers of the World.
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One big union
Industrial Workers of the World members are seen at a rally in New York on May 1, 1912.
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Forced out
The "deportation" of hundreds of Industrial Workers of the World members from Bisbee, Ariz., after a dispute between local copper mines and the union.
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Elizabeth Gurley Flynn trial
IWW organizer Elizabeth Gurley Flynn is seen in a New Jersey courtroom where she was on trial for allegedly giving a speech inciting violence.
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IWW rally
A large crowd listens to speakers at an Industrial Workers of the World rally in New York on May 1, 1908.
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Child labor protest
Two girls are seen wearing "abolish child slavery" banners during a child labor protest in New York City on May 1, 1909. One sign is in Yiddish.
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Bread or revolution
A man wears a hat with with the popular Industrial Workers of the World slogan "Bread or revolution" tucked into the hatband.
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IWW rally
This undated photo shows an Industrial Workers of the World rally on Park Row in New York City.
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Arthur Caron
Arthur Caron was killed on July 4, 1914, when a bomb he was building with co-conspirators blew up in a New York City apartment.
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Charles Plunkett
Charles Plunkett was a member of the IWW and conspired with others to bomb John D. Rockefeller's house in Tarrytown, N.Y.
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Alexander Berkman
Alexander Berkman helped organize the protests to decry the killing of 11 children and two women, along with several striking miners, by the Colorado National Guard at a mine owned by Rockefeller.
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Becky Edelsohn
Becky Edelsohn was a prominent speaker for the Industrial Workers of the World.
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Colorado miners
A crowd gathers at Mulberry Park on May 1, 1914, in New York City to show support for Colorado miners.
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Bomb plotters' funeral
Hearses carry the bodies of Arthur Caron and others who had plotted to bomb John D. Rockefeller's home in Tarrytown, N.Y.
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Verona shootout
This dock in Everett, Wash., was the scene of a violent clash.
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IWW parade
IWW members on parade in Hibbing, Minn., on June 21, 1916.
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Funeral
A group of prominent radical political figures are seen at the funeral for Arthur Caron and others killed when a bomb exploded in a New York City apartment on July 4, 1914.
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Alexander Berkman
Alexander Berkman speaks at an Industrial Workers of the World rally on May 1, 1914.
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Funeral
A group of prominent radical political figures, including Lillian Rubel, Becky Edelsohn, Louise Berger and Alex Berkman, are seen at the funeral for Arthur Caron.
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William "Big Bill" Haywood
William "Big Bill" Haywood was one of the founders of the Industrial Workers of the World in 1905.
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Tom Murphy
Industrial Workers of the World member Tom Murphy was arrested after a riot in Salt Lake City on Aug. 12, 1913.
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Riot
The Jan. 1, 1914, edition of The Salt Lake Telegram mentions the Aug. 12, 1913, riot at an IWW rally.
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Roy Horton
Roy Horton was an Industrial Workers of the World member in Salt Lake City.
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IWW emblem
This Industrial Workers of the World emblem was burned into the wall of a jail cell in Park City, Utah.
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IWW emblem
This Industrial Workers of the World emblem was burned into the wall of a jail cell in Park City, Utah.
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Ludlow Massacre
Coal miners prepare for a clash with the Colorado National Guard.
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Ludlow Massacre children
This 1914 photo shows children and adults posing at Camp Ludlow in south central Colorado.
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Slain miner
A slain miner is seen on the ground after the Colorado National Guard attacked striking miners in Ludlow, Colo.
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Slain miner
A slain miner is seen on the ground after the Colorado National Guard attacked striking miners in Ludlow, Colo.
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Ludlow Massacre
People survey damage in the mining camp after the Colorado National Guard attacked striking miners in Ludlow, Colo.
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Revolutionary Radicalism
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, center, and William "Big Bill" Haywood, right, are seen with other prominent IWW figures.
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Joe Hill's ashes
This postcard shows a group of people at the Work People's College in Duluth, Minnesota singing as they prepare to spread the ashes of Joe Hill at the entrance to the school in February 1917.
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George Child
An account of IWW activities in Utah written by George Child, the head of the Joe Hill Defense Committee.
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IWW newspaper
A group of men pose with a copy of the Industrial Worker, a newspaper that was printed by the Industrial Workers of the World.
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Postcard
A postcard featuring a drawing of prominent Industrial Workers of the World figure Ralph Chaplin.
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Lynched
Wesley Everest was lynched by a mob who took him from a jail cell in Centralia, Wash., on Nov. 11, 1919.
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Gurley Flynn speach
Industrial Workers of the World leader Elizabeth Gurley Flynn speaks to a crowd during the Paterson Silk Strike in New Jersey in 1913.
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Gurley Flynn portrait
A portrait of prominent Industrial Workers of the World speaker Elizabeth Gurley Flynn.
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Big Bill in court
William "Big Bill" Haywood on trial after the federal government raided Industrial Workers of the World halls across the country in September 1917.
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Prisoners
Industrial Workers of the World prisoners are being led away in handcuffs at an unknown location in 1918.
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The death of Frank Little
Frank Little, a prominent Industrial Workers of the World organizer, was killed in Butte, Montana, in 1917.
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San Diego fights
Police use a fire hose to disperse a crowd on March 10, 1912, during San Diego’s free speech fights.
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San Diego fights victims
These men were victims of the violence during free speech fights in San Diego in 1912.
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Police and water
Police use a fire hose on a man on March 10, 1912, during the San Diego free speech fights.
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George Prosser
George Prosser was one of the victims of the violence during the free speech fights in San Diego in 1912
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William "Big Bill" Haywood
William "Big Bill" Haywood, a founder of the Industrial Workers of the World in 1905, is seen in a long coat and bowler hat as he led a strike parade in Lowell, Mass., in 1912. The parade was held in support of the Bread and Roses Strike in nearby Lawrence. More than 20,000 workers joined the Lawrence strike, one of the IWW's more successful efforts. Haywood was born in Salt Lake City in 1869, the son of a Pony Express rider who died when Haywood was 3. Haywood began working as a miner at age 9 and later joined the Western Federation of Miners while working in Idaho.
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Bomb plot
Arthur Caron, second from left, and Charles Plunkett, left of Caron, are seen with other Industrial Workers of the World members in New York. In 1914, Caron and Plunkett were involved in a plot to blow up John D. Rockefeller's house in Tarrytown, N.Y. The bomb went off in the Manhattan apartment where it was being built, killing Caron and three others, on July 4, 1914.
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Bomb plot foiled
On July 4, 1914, a bomb exploded at this apartment at 1626 Lexington Ave. in New York City. Arthur Caron, a member of the Industrial Workers of the World, had been plotting with others to blow up a house belonging to John D. Rockefeller. The bomb exploded in the apartment instead, killing Caron and co-conspirators Charles Berg and Carl Hanson of the Anarchist Black Cross organization. A woman who had been subletting a room in the apartment, Marie Chavez, also was killed.
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Joseph Ettor
Joseph Ettor, a prominent organizer with the Industrial Workers of the World, speaks to a group of striking barbers in New York City on May 17, 1913. He was tried as an accomplice to murder for the death of I.W.W. striker Anna LiPozzo after she was killed during the Lawrence Textile Strike in 1912. He was acquitted.
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Alexander Berkman
Prominent anarchist Alexander Berkman speaks during an Industrial Workers of the World rally on May 1, 1908. He spent 14 years in prison for trying to kill anti-union industrialist Henry Frick in Pennsylvania in 1892, then returned to radical causes. He helped organize protests outside John D. Rockefeller's New York home after the Colorado National Guard attacked strikers — killing men, women and children — at a Rockefeller-owned mine in 1914. A group of men plotted to blow up Rockefeller's house after protesters were beaten, but they were killed when the bomb exploded at their apartment, and Berkman arranged their funerals.
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IWW rally
A large number of Industrial Workers of the World members rally in New York on April 11, 1914.
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Elizabeth Gurley Flynn
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was a prominent speaker and organizer in the Industrial Workers of the World. Before he died, Joe Hill sent Flynn a telegram telling her she was the inspiration for his song "Rebel Girl." She and IWW founder William "Big Bill" Haywood later fell out over her role in a 1916 case in which three Minnesota miners went to prison. In 1920, Flynn helped found the American Civil Liberties Union, but she was ousted after she was elected to a national position in the U.S. Communist Party. She spent two years in prison in the 1950s during the McCarthy era. She became the head of the party in 1961 and died in the Soviet Union in 1964. She was buried in Chicago near the
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One big union
Industrial Workers of the World members are seen at a rally in New York on May 1, 1912. The phrase "One big union," seen on one of the signs, was a popular slogan of the IWW, which wanted to unite workers under one banner rather than dividing them into groups, as was common among trade unions.
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Deportation
This photos shows the "deportation" of hundreds of Industrial Workers of the World members from Bisbee, Ariz., on July 12, 1917, after a dispute between local copper mines and the union. In late June, the IWW demanded better safety practices, including an end to blasting in the mines during workers' shifts. Citing U.S. involvement in World War I, mine owners refused union demands. A strike was called. Rumors circulated that the IWW had been infiltrated by pro-German elements, and two vigilante groups loyal to the mine owners were formed. Early on July 12, about 2,000 men rounded up nearly 1,200 IWW members, forced them into train cars and shipped them to the New Mexico desert without food or water.
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Elizabeth Gurley Flynn trial
Industrial Workers of the World organizer Elizabeth Gurley Flynn is seen in a New Jersey courtroom where she was on trial for allegedly giving a speech inciting violence. The photo was taken Nov. 29, 1915, 10 days after Joe Hill was executed in Salt Lake City. Flynn was acquitted.
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IWW rally
A large crowd listens to speakers at an Industrial Workers of the World rally in New York on May 1, 1908.
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Child labor protest
Two girls are seen wearing "abolish child slavery" banners during a child labor protest in New York City on May 1, 1909.
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Bread or revolution
A man wears a hat with with the popular Industrial Workers of the World slogan "Bread or revolution" tucked into the hatband during a rally in New York City on April 11, 1914.
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IWW rally
This undated photo shows an Industrial Workers of the World rally on Park Row in New York City.
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Arthur Caron
Arthur Caron, a French Canadian member of the Industrial Workers of the World, was killed on July 4, 1914, when a bomb he was building with co-conspirators blew up in a New York City apartment. They had planned to destroy John D. Rockefeller's home in Tarrytown, N.Y., where protesters were beaten. The protesters decried a Colorado National Guard attack that killed women, children and striking miners at a Colorado mine owned by Rockefeller.
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Charles Plunkett
Charles Plunkett was a member of the Industrial Workers of the World and conspired with others to bomb John D. Rockefeller's house in Tarrytown, N.Y., as retribution for police beatings endured by union members who protested outside the house. The protests decried the Colorado National Guard's killing of women, children and striking miners at a mine owned by Rockefeller. The bomb instead exploded in a New York City apartment, killing three of Plunkett's conspirators and a woman who lived there. Plunkett was not in the apartment when the explosion occurred; he later claimed the bomb was intended for a different, unspecified location in Tarrytown.
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Alexander Berkman
Alexander Berkman, second from left, is seen with other Industrial Workers of the World members outside the jail in Tarrytown, N.Y., in June 1914. Protesters had been arrested after clashes with police outside the home of John D. Rockefeller. Berkmann helped organize the protests to decry the killing of 11 children and two women, along with several striking miners, by the Colorado National Guard at a mine owned by Rockefeller.
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Becky Edelsohn
Becky Edelsohn, seen here leaving jail in Tarrytown, N.Y., was a prominent radical speaker. Organizers arranged protests outside John D. Rockefeller's home to protest the Colorado National Guard's killing of 11 children and two women, along with several striking miners, at a mine owned by Rockefeller. In her speech, Edelsohn reportedly called Rockefeller a "multi-murderer" for the deaths. She was arrested and charged with holding an open-air meeting without a permit.
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Colorado protest
A crowd gathers at Mulberry Park on May 1, 1914, in New York City to show support for Colorado miners. An April 1914 clash with the Colorado National Guard had killed about two dozen striking miners and their family members at a mine owned by John D. Rockefeller.
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Bomb plotters' funeral
Hearses carry the bodies of Arthur Caron and others who had plotted to bomb John D. Rockefeller's home in Tarrytown, N.Y. Protesters at the home had been beaten after gathering to object to the Colorado National Guard's killing of 11 children, two women and several striking miners by at a mine owned by Rockefeller. The bomb exploded prematurely in a New York City apartment in July 1914, killing four.
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Verona shootout
The ferry Verona, shown above the "drive slow" sign, is moored at the Everett, Wash., city dock in this 1917 photo. The Verona was in the same location as it was on Nov. 5, 1916, when some 200 armed men met the ferry, which was carrying about 250 Seattle members of the Industrial Workers of the World. The shootout that followed left at least five IWW members dead and six missing; two county deputies also died.
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IWW parade
Supporters of the Industrial Workers of the World parade in Hibbing, Minn., on June 21, 1916. Strikes and hard-nosed negotiations between Iron Range steelworkers and mine owners have been common over the past century.
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Funeral
A group of prominent radical political figures, including Lillian Rubel, Becky Edelsohn, Louise Berger and Alexander Berkman, are seen at the funeral for Arthur Caron and others killed when a bomb exploded in a New York City apartment on July 4, 1914. The bomb had been intended for John D. Rockefeller's home in Tarrytown, N.Y. Protesters had been beaten at the home after gathering to object to the Colorado National Guard's killing of 11 children, two women and several striking miners by at a mine owned by Rockefeller.
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Alexander Berkman
Alexander Berkman, a prominent anarchist born in Lithuania, speaks at an Industrial Workers of the World rally on May 1, 1914. He spent 14 years in prison for trying to kill anti-union industrialist Henry Frick in Pennsylvania in 1892, then returned to radical causes. In 1914, he helped organize protests outside John D. Rockefeller's New York home after the Colorado National Guard attacked strikers — killing men, women and children — at a Rockefeller-owned mine. A group plotted to blow up Rockefeller's house after protesters were beaten, but the men were killed in July 1914 when the bomb exploded at their apartment. Berkman arranged their funerals.
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Funeral
A group of prominent radical political figures, including Lillian Rubel, Becky Edelsohn, Louise Berger and Alex Berkman, are seen at the funeral for Arthur Caron and others killed in the Lexington Avenue explosion in New York City on July 4, 1914. The bomb had been intended for John D. Rockefeller's home in Tarrytown, N.Y. Protesters had been beaten at the home after gathering to object to the Colorado National Guard's killing of 11 children, two women and several striking miners by at a mine owned by Rockefeller. One of the conspirators, Charles Plunkett, is seen with his hands in his pockets on the left side of the photo.
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William "Big Bill" Haywood
William "Big Bill" Haywood was born in Salt Lake City in 1869, the son of a Pony Express rider. Haywood was one of the founders of the Industrial Workers of the World in 1905. His father died when Haywood was 3, and he went to work as a miner at age 9. He joined the Western Federation of Miners while working at a mine in Idaho.
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Tom Murphy
Industrial Workers of the World member Tom Murphy was arrested after a riot in Salt Lake City on Aug. 12, 1913. The IWW was holding a rally for local organizer James Morgan at the corner of 100 South and Regent Street, and hundreds of Wobblies attended. Morgan was attacked by men led by Axel Steele, who worked as a private security guard for Utah Copper. Murphy shot Steele, one of seven people injured: Murphy, Steele, Morgan and four other mine security guards.
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Riot
The Jan. 1, 1914, edition of The Salt Lake Telegram mentions the Aug. 12, 1913, riot at an Industrial Workers of the World rally, held at 100 South and Regent Street. Several people were shot after a group of security guards working for Utah Copper attacked an IWW speaker.
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Roy Horton
Roy Horton was an Industrial Workers of the World member in Salt Lake City. Unarmed, he was shot and killed on on Oct. 31, 1915, in downtown Salt Lake City by a former police officer, who was eventually acquitted.
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IWW emblem
This Industrial Workers of the World emblem was burned into the wall of a jail cell in Park City, Utah, and bears the date Aug. 8, 1916.
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IWW emblem
This Industrial Workers of the World emblem was burned into the wall of a jail cell in Park City, Utah, and bears the date Aug. 8, 1916.
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Ludlow Massacre
This 1914 photo shows coal miners prepared to confront federal troops in Camp San Rafael, built for refugees from Camp Ludlow, near Trinidad, Colo. On April 20, 1914, 11 children and two women died in a fire after a battle between striking miners and the Colorado National Guard. Several miners were also killed in the Ludlow Massacre.
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Ludlow Massacre children
This 1914 photo shows children and adults posing at Camp Ludlow in south central Colorado. Two women and 11 children died in a fire at the camp during the Ludlow Massacre, an April 20, 1914, battle between the Colorado National Guard and striking coal miners. Several miners also were killed.
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Slain miner
A slain miner is seen on the ground after the Colorado National Guard attacked striking miners in Ludlow, Colo., on April 20, 1914. About two dozen people were killed in the attack, including 11 children and two women who died in a fire.
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Slain miner
A slain miner is seen on the ground after the Colorado National Guard attacked striking miners in Ludlow, Colo., on April 20, 1914. The man standing next to the body is holding a white truce flag above his head. About two dozen people were killed in the attack, including 11 children and two women who died in a fire.
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Ludlow Massacre
People survey damage in the mining camp after the Colorado National Guard attacked striking miners in Ludlow, Colo., on April 20, 1914. About two dozen people were killed, including 11 children and two women who died in a fire.
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Revolutionary Radicalism
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, center, and William "Big Bill" Haywood, right, are seen with other prominent Industrial Workers of the World figures in a photo that was published in report titled, "Revolutionary Radicalism: Its History, Purpose and Tactics with an Exposition and Discussion of the Steps Being Taken and Required to Curb It." The report was prepared for the New York Legislature and published in 1920.
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Joe Hill's ashes
This postcard shows a group of people at the Work People's College in Duluth, Minnesota singing as they prepare to spread the ashes of Joe Hill at the entrance to the school in February 1917. After Hill was executed in Salt Lake City on Nov. 19, 1915, his body was shipped to Chicago where he was cremated. The IWW then distributed a small portion of his ashes to union halls and other labor groups all over the world and his ashes were spread in ceremonies at the various locations.
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George Child
This is an account of IWW activities in Utah written by George Child, the head of the Joe Hill Defense Committee. The account is part of Aubrey Haan's research into the life of Joe Hill.
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IWW newspaper
A group of men pose with a copy of the Industrial Worker, a newspaper that was printed by the Industrial Workers of the World.
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Postcard
A postcard featuring a drawing of prominent Industrial Workers of the World figure Ralph Chaplin . The inscription reads "Yours for better days."
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Wesley Everest
Everest was lynched by a mob who took him from a jail cell in Centralia, Wash., on Nov. 11, 1919, after four American Legion members were killed in a clash with Industrial Workers of the World members. Legion members claimed the IWW fired on them as their Armistice Day parade group passed its hall; the IWW said its hall was being raided and claimed self-defense. Everest was hung from a bridge that spanned the Chehalis River. His body was later taken back to the jail, with the noose still around his neck, and placed in view of the IWW members who had been arrested with him.
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Gurley Flynn speach
Industrial Workers of the World leader Elizabeth Gurley Flynn speaks to a crowd during the Paterson Silk Strike in New Jersey in 1913. Two years later, she would inspire Joe Hill's song, "The Rebel Girl.”
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Gurley Flynn portrait
A portrait of prominent Industrial Workers of the World speaker Elizabeth Gurley Flynn.
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Big Bill in court
William "Big Bill" Haywood is seen in court in Chicago, where he was put on trial after the federal government raided Industrial Workers of the World halls across the country in September 1917. Haywood was eventually convicted under the Espionage Act. Unable to overturn his conviction, he fled to Russia in 1921 and died there in 1928.
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Prisoners
Industrial Workers of the World prisoners are being led away in handcuffs at an unknown location in 1918.
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The death of Frank Little
Frank Little, a prominent Industrial Workers of the World organizer, was killed in Butte, Montana, in 1917, where he had arranged a strike against the Anaconda Copper Company. He was also an anti-war activist at the outset of World War I. On Aug. 1, 1917, six men broke into Little's room at a boarding house, beat him and took him to a train trestle where he was lynched. An autopsy revealed he had been dragged behind an automobile.
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San Diego fights
Police use a fire hose to disperse a crowd on March 10, 1912, during San Diego’s free speech fights. Industrial Workers of the World members ignored a city ordinance that barred its street meetings from a large area of the city, claiming the law violated their free speech rights. Police and others responded with brutal violence. Vigilantes took IWW members outside of the city, where mobs would beat the so-called Wobblies with a variety of weapons, and some were killed. An investigator dispatched by California Gov. Hiram Johnson condemned the actions of both sides.
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San Diego fight victims
These man were victims of the violence during free speech fights in San Diego in 1912. Industrial Workers of the World members ignored a city ordinance that barred its street meetings from a large area of the city, claiming the law violated their free speech rights. Police and others responded with brutal violence. Vigilantes took IWW members outside of the city, where mobs would beat the so-called Wobblies with a variety of weapons, and some were killed.
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Police and water
Police use a fire hose on a man on March 10, 1912, during the San Diego free speech fights. Industrial Workers of the World members ignored a city ordinance that barred its street meetings from a large area of the city, claiming the law violated their free speech rights. Police and others responded with brutal violence. Vigilantes took IWW members outside of the city, where mobs would beat the so-called Wobblies with a variety of weapons, and some were killed. An investigator dispatched by California Gov. Hiram Johnson condemned the actions of both sides.
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George Prosser
George Prosser was one of the victims of the violence during the free speech fights in San Diego in 1912. Industrial Workers of the World members ignored a city ordinance that barred its street meetings from a large area of the city, claiming the law violated their free speech rights. Police and others responded with brutal violence. Vigilantes took IWW members outside of the city, where mobs would beat the so-called Wobblies with a variety of weapons, and some were killed. An investigator dispatched by California Gov. Hiram Johnson condemned the actions of both sides.
