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A salesman tells an old farmer that the “Reaper” on display will do as much work as “five hired-men.” The old farmer responds that he can do more than that by himself. Caption: Agent — This reaper-and-binder will do the work of five hired-men! / Farmer Jones — Huh! I kin do more ‘n that, myself, B’gosh!
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1902-11-05
A mob of labor union laborers charge up the steps of the U.S. Capitol. One man carries a flag that states “The (Labor) Union forever! The man who works when we won’t, is a traitor – Kill Him! Unions first, wives and children afterward. All men are equal and the man with brains must be kept down.” The man with the flag is fearfully pointing toward Columbia, who is standing defiant with a sword at her side, the “Declaration of Independence” in one hand, and the American Flag behind her. Caption: The Flag of Freedom will never be displaced by the Flag of Slavery.
Between 1886 and 1921, the United States experienced labor violence worse than any other time in its history, and more severe than in any other country during that period. In 1886 there were violents strikes and protests, and the founding the the Knights of Labor. Through the Haymarket Riot in Chicago that year (anarchists and union organizers, resulting in deaths of police and protesters), the Pullman and anthracite strikes, the rise of figures like Samuel Gompers and Big Bill Haywood, and Communist infiltration of unions in the years after World War I, there was much turmoil. The public’s early and earnest anxieties are reflected in Keppler’s cartoon, which made no attempt at nuance. It is reported that between 1902 (one of the high-water marks of labor violence) and 1904, there were at least 198 deaths and almost 2000 injuries from labor strife nationwide. The main industries that were struck included coal mines; various mining operations in Colorado; teamster crews, especially in San Francisco and Chicago; railroad and rail car manufacturing like the bloody Pullman strike; urban streetcar operations; and the textile and garment industries, as per the Patterson NJ silk workers’ strike. It is arguable that the violent history of this period has somewhat receded from history because the reform measures and pro-worker advocacies of Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Movement defused many of the complaints against conditions and the system.