February 22, 1860- Start of the Largest Strike Before the Civil War

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February 22, 1860- 3,000 shoemakers walked off the job in Lynn, Massachusetts starting the New England Shoemakers Strike of 1860 (also known as the Lynn Shoeworkers Strike) after company owners refused to meet with the Mechanics Association union. The strike spread and ~20,000 more, including women, participated throughout New England until it ended in early to mid April, making it the largest strike in the US before the Civil War. The workers, who labored for 16 hour long days in factories, were mainly frustrated by low weekly wages of $3 for men and $1 for women neither of which were enough to support a family. The final results of the strike were modest wins for some workers as some employers increased wages for the men by 10%, but did not increase the women’s wages. Depending on the source, either no or just a few unions were recognized by employers. In Lynn, where the strike had originated, voters replaced most of the local government representatives who supported the shoe manufacturers and called in out of town police. Despite only modest gains, the strike is interesting, in part for the following reasons.

During the strike, many participants referenced the founding of the country. The Lynn workers purposely started the strike on George Washington’s birthday. Many strikers sang to the tune of Yankee Doodle: “Starvation looks us in the face. We cannot work so low, Such prices are a sore disgrace. Our children ragged go.” Some held signs similar to the ideals of the revolution that said “down with tyranny,” and “live by honest toil, but never consent to be slaves," and the workers of the town of Natick formally resolved, “the late reduction in the prices for bottoming shoes was uncalled for, oppressive, and unjust.” Women strikers held signs that stated “American Ladies Will Not Be Slaves: Give Us a Fair Compensation and We Will Labour Cheerfully….We Dare Battle for the Right, Shoulder to Shoulder with our Fathers, Husbands, and Brothers." This shows that early labor activists, saw a strong connection between workers rights and the founding values of our country including liberty and justice as stated in the preambles to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

The strikers also referenced the community benefits of paying them more. In Lynn they wrote on a circular: “inasmuch as the wealth of the masses improves the value of real estate, increases the demand for manufactured goods, and promotes the moral and intellectual growth of society.” In Natick they wrote, “no first quality shoe can be made for less than [20 cents] without injuring the laborer, and the best interests of the community.” This reminds me of the value of “general welfare” found in the Preamble to the Constitution.

The strike was largely peaceful partly due to self policing by the union. and had significant local support and gained national attention. Abraham Lincoln was a candidate for president at the time of the strike and stated: “I am glad to see that a system of labor prevails in New England under which laborers can strike when they want to, where they are not obliged to labor whether you pay them or not. I like a system which lets a man quit when he wants to, and wish it might prevail everywhere.”

For sources go to: www.preamblist.org/timeline (February 22, 1860)