Today in Labor History September 6

Today in Labor History September 6, 1620: The Pilgrims sail from Plymouth, England on the Mayflower to settle in North America. This led to increasing immigration from Europe and colonization of North America, greatly exacerbating the genocide of Indigenous Peoples that started when Columbus first arrived in 1492. When the Europeans first arrived, historians estimate that over 10 million native peoples lived in the Americas. By 1900, there were only 300,000 native people left.

1800s

Today in Labor History September 6, 1860: The founder of Hull House, Jane Addams, was born on this date in 1860. Addams was a peace activist, sociologist and author. She was a co-founder of the ACLU (along with Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, the IWW organizer), and a leader in the history of social work and women’s suffrage. In 1931, she became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1889, along with her lover, Ellen Gates Starr, she co-founded Hull House, a settlement house in Chicago, for poor women from the meatpacking district. Eventually, 25 women regularly lived there. Another 2,000 visited weekly. It became a center for research, study and debate. Members were bound by their commitment to the labor and suffrage movements. The facilities included a doctor to provide medical treatment for poor families, gym, adult night school and a girls’ club. The adult night school became a model for the continuing education classes that occur today.

Today in Labor History September 6, 1869: The Avondale mine disaster occurred on this date in 1869, killing 110 workers and leading to the first mine safety law in Pennsylvania. Avondale is near Plymouth, Pennsylvania. The Susquehanna River flows nearby. The mine had only one entrance, in violation of safety recommendations at the time. My book, “Anywhere But Schuylkill,” opens with this fire. My MC, Mike Doyle, joins the bucket brigade trying to put out the flames shooting out of the mineshaft. You can download the 1^st chapter here: https://marshalllawwriter.com/

1900s-1950s

Today in Labor History September 6, 1901: Anarchist steelworker Leon Czolgosz assassinated President William McKinley, in the name of workers, in Buffalo, New York. However, many leading anarchists had repudiated him prior to the assassination, accusing him of being a spy or provocateur because of his reclusive and erratic behavior. The authorities quickly arrested Czolgosz and executed him 7 weeks later.

Today in Labor History September 6, 1912: Duluth streetcar drivers went on strike.

Today in Labor History September 6, 1955: Istanbul launched a government-sponsored pogrom against its Greek, Jewish, and Armenian minorities. Dozens were killed in the ensuing riots.

1960

Today in Labor History September 6, 1966: A communist anti-Apartheid activist assassinated Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, the architect of apartheid, in Cape Town, South Africa during a parliamentary meeting.

Today in Labor History September 6, 1966: Margaret Sanger died on this date in 1966. Sanger was a sex reformer, birth-control advocate, anti-authoritarian, socialist, and eugenicist. She was active in the Socialist party, but was friends with communists, like John Reed, and anarchists like Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman. She is said to have coined the phrase “birth control” in her magazine, “Woman Rebel,” in 1914. The magazine bore the slogan “No Gods; No Masters!” on its masthead. Sanger participated in the Patterson Textile Strike of 1913, and was a contributor to Hippolyte Havel’s “Revolt,” Emma Goldman’s “Mother Earth,” Alexander Berkman’s “The Blast,” & “The Modern School” magazine.

1970s

Today in Labor History September 6, 1972: The Black September Organization (BSO) a Palestinian militant organization kidnapped and killed 11 Israeli athletes and officials at the Munich Olympics. The event is known as the Munich Massacre. The group also assassinated Jordanian Prime Minister Wasfi Tal. As a result of the Munich Massacre, many European countries created permanent counter-terrorism forces. BSO’s last known activity was in 1988.