The Samuel Gompers Papers, Volume 8With almost forty years' experience as a labor leader by 1909, Samuel Gompers had learned the value of practical achievements. Shorter hours, higher wages, safer and more sanitary workplaces, and a voice in establishing working conditions were the hallmarks of trade unionism in the Progressive Era, and these hard-won, incremental gains had significantly improved working-class lives. While these were not all he hoped to achieve, they represented, Gompers believed, essential victories in a bitter class struggle that was far from over. This installment of the multivolume documentary history of the nation's premier labor leader covers a period marked by industrial tragedies--such as the 1909 Cherry Hill mine disaster and the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist fire--and industrial violence, including the 1910 bombing of the Los Angeles Times building. These years were punctuated by hard-fought strikes and judicial proceedings directed against trade unionists, most notably the Danbury Hatters' and Buck's Stove cases and the prosecution of the McNamaras. For Gompers, these were demanding years that taxed his health and energy but ultimately strengthened his resolve as he became a crucial player in the AFL's efforts to establish collective bargaining as the basis of industrial democracy. |
Contents
Excerpts from Accounts of the 1909 Convention of the AFL | 3 |
To Nicholas Murray Butler Dec 22 1909 | 23 |
A Circular Jan 1 1910 | 31 |
Peter Conlin to Frank Morrison Jan 31 1910 | 40 |
To John Stahl Feb 12 1910 | 46 |
From Calvin Shealy Feb 18 1910 | 54 |
An Address before the Chicago Federation of Labor Mar 6 1910 62 | 76 |
To Michael Conry Apr 14 1910 | 82 |
A News Account of an Address in Fresno California | 261 |
To Joseph Skemp Oct 21 1911 | 278 |
From Marion Webster Nov 27 1911 | 298 |
From W D Mahon Dec 6 1911 | 304 |
W Post Dec 11 1911 | 315 |
To Seth Low Jan 19? 1912 | 321 |
44 | 323 |
To Abram Elkus Jan 31 1912 | 328 |
An Excerpt from an Article in the Washington Star | 90 |
To the Executive Council of the AFL May 28 1910 | 100 |
To the Executive Council of the AFL July 25 1910 | 107 |
From John Golden Aug 6 1910 | 115 |
From James Wilson Sept 23 1910 | 121 |
31 | 126 |
To Samuel Levy Sept 27 1910 | 127 |
35 | 132 |
To Herman Gutstadt Oct 12 1910 | 133 |
From James Duncan Dec 7 1910 | 151 |
From John Tobin Dec 16 1910 | 157 |
From Booker T Washington Dec 30 1910 | 165 |
To John Lennon Feb 10 1911 | 171 |
To Frank Buchanan Feb 24 1911 | 183 |
To Elmer Greenawalt Mar 17 1911 | 190 |
39 | 191 |
From Frederic Gardner Mar 23 1911 | 201 |
To Frank Ryan Apr 23 1911 | 209 |
To the Executive Council of the AFL May 2 1911 | 213 |
40 | 217 |
To James Duncan May 23 1911 | 219 |
To Harry Eichelberger June 6 1911 | 228 |
Excerpts from the Minutes of a Meeting of the Executive | 234 |
To James Duncan June 27 1911 | 240 |
To John Boehne July 8 1911 | 245 |
43 | 253 |
To Clarence Gaumer Aug 8 1911 | 254 |
To the Executive Council of the AFL Feb 15 1912 | 335 |
From Clarence Darrow February? 1912 | 346 |
To Harry Carlson Mar 1 1912 | 355 |
To William Chilton Mar 27 1912 | 361 |
To William Smith May 2 1912 | 369 |
To Maud Younger May 17 1912 | 382 |
A Circular c Aug 12 1912 | 389 |
To Elijah Caton Sept 18 1912 | 395 |
Sadie Julian Gompers to Sophia Julian Gompers Nov 25 1912 | 416 |
To Bert Myers Dec 3 1912 | 422 |
To Charles Nagel Dec 28 1912 | 429 |
To William Sulzer Jan 8 1913 | 438 |
To Jere Sullivan Jan 27 1913 | 448 |
Minutes of a Conference Held in New York City Feb 5 1913 | 455 |
To William Rubin Feb 17 1913 | 457 |
To the Executive Council of the AFL Mar 15 1913 | 469 |
Lewis to Frank Morrison Apr 21 1913 | 475 |
To Frank Morrison May 20 1913 | 494 |
Frank Morrison to James Duncan July 14 1913 | 500 |
46 | 504 |
From George Perkins July 30 1913 | 506 |
Frank Morrison to John Walker Aug 15 1913 | 512 |
GLOSSARY | 521 |
| 565 | |
| 566 | |
| 575 | |
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