IWW Expository

The IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) is a labor union. It was founded in 1905, and is still running strong. The union fights for better rights for laborers and opposes warfare. This is shown in one part of their mission statement that can be found on their website: “The working class and the employing class have nothing in common. There can be no peace so long as hunger and want are found among millions of the working people and the few, who make up the employing class, have all the good things of life.”

The IWW played a big part in American history. It changed many people’s opinions about capitalism, and made the public aware of the plight of laborers. It also encouraged desertion from the army. The union is completely against wars. They presented their opinions to the government in the forms pamphlets, strikes, demonstrations, etc.

In 1912, the union was at its peak. It had around 50,000 members, compromised mostly of laborers. Back then, there was a lot of government repression. The government also tried again and again to get the public against the union. Even though it went through such hard times, the union still stands proudly today, never faltering from its task.

News Article

On September 15th, 1917, US Department of Justice agents raided forty-eight meeting places, situated all over the country, of the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World). In total, 165 IWW leaders were arrested. They were charged with starting labor disputes, hindering the draft, and encouraging desertion from the army.

All of the leaders were given 20 year jail sentences, even the ones who had recently joined the large union. The IWW is known for strongly opposing wars. The large union spreads anti-militaristic propaganda when no wars are being waged, and so when a war starts, many people are on their side. Strangely, there was no public outcry against the raids. Despite the IWW’s tactic described above, the public has largely supported what the Department of Justice has done.

One of the arrested leaders describes his experience. “We were sitting at a table discussing the latest news and what we should do about it when suddenly the door to the hall burst open and twenty or so armed men rushed into the room. They were yelling and screaming for us to get on the ground. I was slammed against the table and roughly hauled away. It is so unfair! We have not broken any laws, and no evidence was shown to us. I think Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis is in league with the government. He convicted us all.”

“I don’t see why some people are so surprised about this. They broke the law and consequently they are going to jail,” reports Judge Kenesaw. “Right now we need all the men we can get to fight this war and conquer the Nazis. We have enough problems overseas, so the last thing we need is internal problems, like the protests the IWW is organizing. They are a thorn in this country’s side, keeping this nation from its maximum efficiency on the battlefield and in the factories.”

1870’s Stock Market Simulation

I don't think I was a very successful entrepreneur for two reasons, the first being that the total amount of money I could have gotten was $10,155 (I got $212). The second reason is that at the beginning of the game, I sold stock at low prices and bought them at high prices, because I didn't exactly know what to do. Towards the end, I mainly used the "buy low, sell high" strategy. “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket” also relates to me. I always had shares in at least three different companies.

Discriptive Piece: Ralph Chaplin

Vishal

Periods: 1, 5

Dear Mother Jones,

I cannot believe what the government has done to me! They have given me a twenty year jail sentence. All I have done is expressed my opinions, I haven’t broken any laws. I am writing this letter to you from a dirty, dingy jail cell. The air smells sewage and rat droppings, and the food is barely edible.

My followers and I were prosecuted with ‘An intent to obstruct the prosecution of war.’ How is that possible, when all we were doing was spreading our beliefs in different ways? This country is a free country, and I have a right to free speech. The government didn’t even produce one witness that could accuse me of this so-called crime. They think that the articles, meetings, pamphlets, and other means of spreading information that I used was creating agitation in the public.

I believe that the big businesses and the government are in league with each other. Both profit from war. The government wants non-educated people, who don’t even know what they’re getting themselves into, to join the army. I feel that it is my job to educate them, and show them how they are being exploited and used.

The businesses also profit from war because the army needs products to operate. Most of the guns, ammunition, backpacks, uniforms, etc. are made by private companies. The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. It is unfair. And to make things worse, now I’m in jail.

However, I am going to use this time wisely. Instead of just sitting around, I’m going to write poems. I haven’t had time to write any before, but now I have all the time in the world. If people, don’t want to come to my meetings, I will get their attention by presenting my beliefs in a creative way. The public must listen, or this wonderful country is ruined.

My bleak surroundings will help me focus on my goal. My cell is so small that I can walk to the back of it from the door in two strides. It has a dirt floor and no bed. The whole place reeks of feces and urine. Some prisoners are so weak that they don’t ask the guard if they can go to the bathroom. They just go in their cell. The walls are ice cold, everything is cold. Little warmth gets through the tiny barred window that is in my cell. Most of the time, there is silence, each prisoner lost in their own thoughts. Sometimes I get so agitated that I want to scream to break the silence.

Mother Jones, please hold the fort while I am gone. I know it is a lot to ask, but our country depends on you.

Sincerely,

Ralph Chaplin

Image found on: http://art.laborarts.org/small/28203t.jpg

Reflection 9-10-07

For the most part, I haven't accomplished my first goal. I still usually leave my homework until after dinner. I think I have accomplished the second goal though. If I don't understand something, I ask a question about it.

Ralph Chaplin

Born in Ames County, Kansas, in 1887, Ralph Chaplin has been a labor activist since the age of seven. Some of his experiences in his life led him to write many poems that had to do with labor. He is most famous for composing the lyrics to the union anthem, which he originally wrote as a poem. I asked him about these experiences and others in this exclusive interview.

What made you become a labor activist?
It was a very traumatic experience, especially at my age at the time. It was during the Pullman strike in Chicago, Illinois. I heard a commotion outside while I was helping my mother with lunch in the kitchen. I got up from the dining table and opened the front door of our small house. The door was red. The color I was just about to see. One of the laborers was yelling at the police and encouraging the crowd. Suddenly, I heard a bang, and the worker’s white shirt was suddenly stained with blood. He fell to the ground, a look of surprise in his eyes. I was too shocked to utter a word, so I closed the door and leaned against it, suddenly feeling very weak. It was then that I decided I would become a labor activist. I was seven years old.

Tell me about working on the strike committee of coal miners with Mother Jones.
It was in Kanawha County, West Virginia. The coal miners did hard labor for eight hours of every day except Sunday. The committee was trying to get better rights for them. Working alongside Mother Jones was a great honor. She is a very dedicated, determined, and driven activist. The police were absurd, putting her in house arrest in 1913. “Conspiring to commit murder,” that’s what the police said! Rubbish! Yes, she was a good person to have on your side. I will never forget what she said time and time again: “Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.”

Your experiences with the strike committee caused you to write many poems. One of them turned out to become the lyrics of the union anthem, “Solidarity Forever.” What was going through your mind when you wrote that poem?
I was thinking about the union. The union changes everything, people take us more seriously and awareness is spread more efficiently. This is reflected mainly in the repeating verse that says “The union makes us strong,” “us” referring to the workers. I was also thinking about how we can overpower the unfair people that are making our lives hard. As one, we cannot do much, but as a union, we have power.


What role did you play in IWW (Industrial Workers of the World)?
I was the editor of the organization’s eastern U.S. publication, Solidarity. Later on, in 1992, I worked in Chicago as the editor of the IWW’s newspaper, the Industrial Worker. Both publications spread IWW’s ideas and beliefs across the U.S. I am also accredited for designing the black cat, which I made while working with the organization. It is the IWW’s symbol for sabotage.

Why did you create the black cat the way you did?
Well, first of all, you have to understand what the symbol looks like. It is a skinny black cat in a fighting stance. Its back is curved, and the hairs on its back are on end. The black color of it symbolizes that all of us [members of the IWW] are willing to die for the causes we fight for. Black is the color of death. Also, the fighting stance of the cat represents that the union is always fighting. There is an eternal war waging between the government and businesses and the IWW.

I guess you could say my life so far has been quite interesting. What matters to me the most though is that I am doing what I think is right.

-Vishal Rutanen-Whaley
 

The Net Effect of the Industrial Revolution

Negative:

• Kids were employed to do dangerous jobs
• Factories were dirty and dangerous
• More people suffered injuries and there were more deaths than on the farms
• There were long working hours in the factories
• The factory workers didn't have many rights
• People were thrown in to jail without any or much evidence against them
• Machines started replacing humans, so many people lost their jobs
• The police shot protesting laborers
  

Positive:

• People that worked in factories got housing in the city
• Families worked together in factories
• More products were available to the public
• Lives were run by clocks, so people could be sure they were on time
• Country's economies grew
• People who started a business could make a lot of money
• There started being competition between businesses, so high quality products were being produced
• Because large amounts of people started living together, new friendships were formed and people learned to cooperate