Workers, Labor Unions, and the American Left in the 20th Century Workers, Labor Unions, and the American Left in the 20th Century Access: Access on and off campus. Description: This module consists of a wide range of collections documenting the American workers and labor unions in the 20th century, with a special emphasis on the interaction between workers and the U.S. federal government. The collection opens with Strike Files of the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as records on U.S. government surveillance of radical workers. Materials in this collection provide a view into the evolving policies of intervention in labor disputes and documentation on the major strikes between 1894-1920, as well as a window into the daily operations of private industry during a time of radical social change. Other topics covered include labor struggles by copper miners, deportation of workers and the tumultuous situation among workers in the Chicago meat-packing industry. The government surveillance files consist of U.S. Military Intelligence Reports on radicals from 1917-1941 and Department of Justice investigations of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), the Communist Party, and the use of military force by the federal government in domestic disturbances between 1900 and 1938. There is coverage on anarchist, socialist, social democratic, and libertarian groups, unemployment relief in the 1930s, farm tenancy, labor strife during World War II, and more. This article was published on 2024-08-21
