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Ida Tarbell (1857 - 1944)

Thu Nov 05, 1857

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Ida Tarbell, born on this day in 1857, was an American investigative journalist and feminist. "The quest of the truth had been born in me - the most tragic and incomplete, as well as the most essential, of man's quests."

Born in Pennsylvania at the onset of the oil boom, Tarbell is possibly best known for her 1904 book, "The History of the Standard Oil Company". Her expose on the practices of Rockefeller's Standard Oil was called a "masterpiece of investigative journalism", by historian J. North Conway, as well as "the single most influential book on business ever published in the United States" by historian Daniel Yergin.

The work would contribute to the dissolution of the Standard Oil monopoly and helped usher in multiple pieces of anti-trust reform, including the Clayton Antitrust Act and the creation of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

"The quest of the truth had been born in me - the most tragic and incomplete, as well as the most essential, of man's quests."

- Ida Tarbell

• Date: 1857-11-05
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.smithsonianmag.com, connecticuthistory.org.
• Tags: #Birthdays, #Journalism, #Feminism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

The Everett Massacre (1916)

Sun Nov 05, 1916

The Everett Massacre (also known as Bloody Sunday) was an armed confrontation in Everett, Washington between local police, a deputized mob, and members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union that took place on this day in 1916.

The Seattle IWW sent three hundred of its members up to Everett to demonstrate in solidarity with striking shingle workers there. Upon arriving at the dock, however, they were greeted by Snohomish County Sheriff McRae and two hundred "citizen deputies", who refused to let them land.

Gunfire was exchanged, and at least seven people were killed and forty-three were wounded. Despite this violence, striking workers in Everett continued with their planned demonstration and were promptly taken to jail by McRae.

• Date: 1916-11-05
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, depts.washington.edu.
• Tags: #Labor, #IWW, #Massacre.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

United Farm Workers Office Bombed (1970)

Wed Nov 04, 1970

On this day in 1970, a United Farm Workers (UFW) office was bombed Salinas Valley, California. The bombing took place during the Salad Bowl strike, the largest farm workers strike in U.S. history, which had begun on August 23rd of that year.

The Salad Bowl strike was in part a protest against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters winning legal jurisdiction over farm workers in California (the UFW had previously organized these workers). The Salad Bowl Strike caused the price of lettuce to double practically overnight, and lettuce growers lost $500,000 a day.

During the strike UFW leader César Chávez was arrested and imprisoned. When he was visited by athlete Rafer Johnson and Ethel Kennedy, widow of slain Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Johnson and Kennedy were attacked by an anti-union mob on the steps of the jail and police had to suppress the quarrel.

Although the strike ended on March 26th, 1971 when the Teamsters and UFW signed a new jurisdictional agreement reaffirming the UFW's right to organize field workers, jurisdictional labor disputes (and associated violence) would continue for years afterward. These tensions led directly to the passage of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act in 1975.

• Date: 1970-11-04
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, peoplesworld.org.
• Tags: #Labor, #Terrorism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Allende Assumes Office (1970)

Tue Nov 03, 1970

On this day in 1970, Salvador Allende became the first Marxist to serve as elected leader of a Latin American liberal democracy. "We are seeking to overcome [the bourgeois state]...Our objective is total, scientific, Marxist socialism."

As President, Allende sought to nationalize major industries, expand education and improve the living standards of the working class. Specific examples of his policies include giving educational grants to indigenous children, literacy programs in impoverished areas, and establishing a minimum wage for workers of all ages.

On September 11th, 1973, the military moved to oust Allende in a coup d'état assisted by the Henry Kissinger and the CIA. As troops surrounded La Moneda Palace, he gave his last speech vowing not to resign. Later that day, Allende died of suicide with a gun, according to an investigation conducted by a Chilean court with the assistance of international experts in 2011.

Following Allende's death, General Augusto Pinochet refused to return authority to a civilian government, and Chile was later ruled by a military junta that was in power up until 1990. This junta dissolved the Congress of Chile, suspended the Constitution, and began a persecution of alleged dissidents, in which at least 3,095 civilians disappeared or were killed.

"As for the bourgeois state, at the present moment, we are seeking to overcome it, to overthrow it.… Our objective is total, scientific, Marxist socialism."

- Salvador Allende, as quoted in Conversations With Allende (1970) by French philosopher Régis Debray

• Date: 1970-11-03
• Learn More: www.marxists.org, en.wikipedia.org, jacobinmag.com.
• Tags: #Socialism, #Marxism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

UK Postal Workers' Strike Ends (2003)

Mon Nov 03, 2003

On this day in 2003, a wildcat strike involving two-thirds of Royal Mail workers in the United Kingdom (around 20,000 people) ended in victory for the striking mail carriers.

In August of that year, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) called for a national strike for higher wages, however the proposition we defeated in a close vote. A few months later, in late October, postal workers engaged in a wildcat strike of their own, indicating a lack of trust between union rank-and-file and leadership.

The strike began when a driver in Dartford, London was sacked and 400 co-workers engaged in a spontaneous work stoppage. Within eleven days, 20,000 to 25,000 workers were out, mostly from London and the South East. More than 16 million letters per day were piling up and, after a few days, 10,000 post boxes across London were sealed off.

On November 3rd, after the management promised that there would be no repression, sackings or local deals, the strike was resolved. On the aims of the workers and why the strike was successful, one worker commented:

"It was a defensive, but successful strike. The issue is we broke the anti strike legislation. In this case even the headquarters union official were not trying very hard to enforce the law and the local union reps were actively working against the law. We broke through the unions officials 'anti-strike' politics again, and we were successful when we did."

• Date: 2003-11-03
• Learn More: libcom.org, www.theguardian.com.
• Tags: #Labor.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Norman Morrison Self-Immolation (1965)

Tue Nov 02, 1965

Norman Morrison (1933 - 1965) was a Baltimore Quaker committed suicide via self-immolation in protest of the Vietnam War on this day in 1965. Morrison was 31 and left behind a wife and three children.

The act was a protest United States involvement in the Vietnam War, and took place directly below Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's office at the Pentagon. Morrison was 31 and left behind a wife and three children.

Morrison's death was widely publicized and drew comparisons to Thích Quảng Đức and other Buddhist monks, who burned themselves to death to protest the repression committed by the South Vietnam government in years prior. In Vietnam, Morrison became a folk hero to some, his name rendered as "Mo Ri Xon". On May 9th, 1967, protesters held a vigil for Morrison before occupying the Pentagon for four days until being removed and arrested.

• Date: 1965-11-02
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.theguardian.com.
• Tags: #Imperialism, #Protests.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Plowshares Kitsap Break-in (2007)

Fri Nov 02, 2007

On this day in 2009, five anti-nuclear weapons peace activists who were part of the Plowshares movement broke into the Naval Base Kitsap, a nuclear-submarine base on Hood Canal northwest of Bremerton, Washington.

This "Disarm Now Plowshares" protest was a symbolic disarming of one of the largest nuclear-weapons stockpiles in the United States.

The five activists cut a hole through the perimeter fence surrounding the Bangor submarine base and began walking toward the storage area for nuclear weapons, carrying hammers and vials of their own blood. After making it within 10 yards of where the nukes were stored, they were arrested by Marines at gunpoint.

After being charged with conspiracy, trespass, destruction of property on a naval installation, and depredation of government property, the group was found guilty on December 13th, 2010.

At sentencing, Judge Benjamin Settle considering releasing the defendants while they waited for their prison terms to begin, however all individuals refused and, while singing songs of peace, federal marshals escorted them out of the courtroom and into federal detention.

• Date: 2007-11-02
• Learn More: www.historylink.org, en.wikipedia.org.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Smith Act Trial (1949)

Tue Nov 01, 1949

Image: Defendants charged under the Smith Act Robert Thompson and Benjamin Davis smiling, surrounded by pickets as they leave the Federal Courthouse in New York City in 1949 [Wikipedia]

On this day in 1949, the first trial of communist leaders under the Smith Act began in Manhattan. The trial spanned 10 months at the height of anti-communist hysteria. All 11 defendants were convicted, and all 5 of their attorneys imprisoned.

The Alien Registration Act, popularly known as the Smith Act, is a United States federal statute that was enacted on June 28th, 1940.

The Act set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government by force or violence and required all non-citizen adult residents to register with the federal government. Approximately 215 people were indicted under the legislation, including alleged communists, anarchists, and fascists.

On November 1st, 1949, the first trial of communist leaders began in Manhattan, New York. The trial, lasting ten months, was one of the longest in United States history, and took place at a fever pitch of anti-communist hysteria - the USSR tested its first nuke, communists won the Chinese Civil War, and the House of Un-American Activities Committee began its censorship in Hollywood, all while the trial was underway.

All eleven defendants were convicted under the Smith Act, and all five of their defense attorneys were imprisoned for contempt of court. Two were later disbarred. In the years following, more than 100 additional Communist Party USA (CPUSA) officers were convicted for violating the Smith Act, decimating the leadership of the CPUSA.

The Supreme Court put an end to these types of convictions in Yates v. United States (1957), where it ruled that radical speech was protected under the 1st amendment.

• Date: 1949-11-01
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, depts.washington.edu.
• Tags: #Communism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

UMW Coal Strike (1919)

Sat Nov 01, 1919

On this day in 1919, the United Mine Workers (UMW) initiated a nationwide strike of more than 400,000 coal miners, demanding better wages and a 30-hour week. The U.S. declared the strike illegal while the media smeared workers as communists.

U.S. Attorney General, A. Mitchell Palmer, the same individual behind the infamous Palmer Raids, declared the strike illegal by invoking the Lever Act, a wartime measure that made it a crime to interfere with the production or transportation of necessities.

The law had never been used against a union before, and in fact American Federation of Labor (AFL) founder Samuel Gompers had been promised by President Woodrow Wilson that the Lever Act would not be used to suppress labor actions.

The strike was subject to Red Scare propaganda: coal operators made false charges that Lenin and Trotsky had ordered the strike and were financing it, and some of the press repeated those claims. Others used words like "insurrection" and "Bolshevik revolution". Because of this propaganda and the Attorney General's injunction against the strike, the UMW called the strike off on November 8th.

Many workers ignored this order, however, and the strike continued for over a month, with a final agreement being reached on December 10th. Workers won a 14% wage increase and the creation of an investigatory commission to mediate wage issues.

• Date: 1919-11-01
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, libcom.org.
• Tags: #Labor.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Coal Creek Strikers Free Prisoners (1891)

Sat Oct 31, 1891

On this day in 1891, armed Tennessee Coal Miners freed hundreds of prisoners who were being used as strikebreaking convict labor. The raid took place in the context of the "Coal Creek War", a militant labor uprising in the early 1890s.

The Coal Creek War took place primarily, but not exclusively, in Anderson County, Tennessee. This labor conflict ignited in 1891 when coal mine owners in the Coal Creek watershed began to remove and replace their company-employed, private coal miners then on the payroll with convict laborers leased out by the Tennessee state prison system, used in this case as strikebreakers.

Coal workers at the Tennessee Coal Mining Company (TCMC) went on strike on April 1st, 1891, demanding to be paid in cash, not scrip (currency only usable at company stores) and to be allowed to check the weight of their haul (they were paid by weight, but not allowed to check the company's measurement).

Workers initiated a series of raids against the TCMC - on July 14th, armed miners surrounded the stockades where leased convicts were held and sent them by train out of the city. On October 31st, 1891, the miners burned company stockades to the ground and freed hundreds of convicts being held there. On Nov. 2nd, another band attacked stockades in a different location and freed those prisoners as well. From those two events alone, at least 453 convicts were set free.

The strike was forcibly put down by state militia, ending with the arrest of hundreds of miners. All but one were either acquitted or merely fined. Tennessee ended its policy of leasing convict labor, using convicts to work in state-owned mines instead.

• Date: 1891-10-31
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, libcom.org.
• Tags: #Labor.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

JJ Foods Strike (1995)

Tue Oct 31, 1995

On this day in 1995, workers at the JJ Fast Food Distribution plant in Tottenham, London walked out to demand the reinstatement of their elected shop steward, beginning a several-month strike at the factory.

The workers were mostly Kurdish and Turkish immigrants, as the food and textile industries were significant employers of immigrant workers.

Working conditions at the plant were difficult - according to the anarchist publication Black Flag, workers were putting in 60-70 hours per week with no overtime, sick, or holiday pay. The day before the strike, the factory manager had fired the elected shop steward in response workers' attempts to organize through the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU).

When arriving to work the next day, workers refused to work, demanding the reinstatement of their elected representative. The boss then demanded union workers leave, and then fighting broke out. The union members then gathered outside the gate and were attacked by police.

The following day, the sacked workers and around 100 supporters again gathered outside the warehouse, attempting to block the access road and again clashing with police. The labor disputes continued for months. After two weeks, an Industrial Tribunal initiated by TGWU ruled that the workers had been sacked for union membership, and ordered them to return to work February 26th.

Despite this apparent victory, when 35 workers returned to their jobs, they were told that their union would not be recognized and that they be forced to work from 5 AM until midnight. This caused another strike, however it was short-lived and ineffective. Only 12 out of the original 42 fired JJ workers returned to work on March 18th.

• Date: 1995-10-31
• Learn More: libcom.org, libcom.org.
• Tags: #Labor.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Nat Turner Captured (1831)

Sun Oct 30, 1831

On this day in 1831, Nat Turner, a radical preacher on the run after initiating a slave rebellion, was captured. After being sentenced to death, Turner was asked if he regretted his actions. He responded "Was Christ not crucified?"

Turner (1800 - 1831) was born and raised in Southampton County, Virginia, an area where black people outnumbered whites. He learned how to read and write at a young age and was deeply religious, eventually becoming an influential preacher in the area.

In early 1831, on the basis of religious visions, Nat Turner began preparing a slave insurrection. The rebellion began on August 21st, and rebels traveled from house to house, freeing slaves and killing many of the white people that they encountered.

At least 55 white people were killed, and the slaves killed men, women, and children. The group spared a few homes "because Turner believed the poor white inhabitants 'thought no better of themselves than they did of negroes'".

The rebellion was put down by a combined force of local militia and three companies of artillery. The state executed 56 black people, and militias killed at least 100 more, some of whom were not involved in the rebellion.

Turner went on the run, eluding capture for six weeks. On this day in 1831, a white farmer discovered him hidden among the local Nottoway people in a depression in the earth, created by a large, fallen tree that was covered with fence rails. After being tried and convicted for "conspiring to rebel and making insurrection", he was asked if he regretted what he had done. Turner responded "Was Christ not crucified?"

Turner was hanged on November 11th, 1831. His body was dissected and flayed, with his bones and skin being used to create trophies and souvenirs, such as purses.

After Turner's execution, state legislatures passed new laws prohibiting education of slaves and free black people, restricting rights of assembly and other civil liberties for free black people, and requiring white ministers to be present at all worship services.

• Date: 1831-10-30
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.jacobinmag.com.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org