Presidents and Labor: Woodrow Wilson and Big Bill Haywood
As was mentioned in an earlier article in this series about Samuel Gompers, President Woodrow Wilson courted the labor vote as part of his support base, and did enjoy the support of some labor leaders such as Gompers. But when the United States entered the First World War in 1917, after Wilson had just won re-election with the slogan "he kept us out of war", many in the labor movement saw this as a betrayal. Anti-war sentiment led to conflict with Wilson's government, as the latter saw any form of anti-war speech as treasonous and as giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
Wilson treated those unions that supported the effort very favorably. These groups included the American Federation of Labor, led by Gompers. Wilson worked closely with Gompers and the AFL, and with the railroad brotherhoods, and other supportive unions. In turn, these groups saw enormous growth in membership and wages during Wilson's administration. Rationing was not instituted and as such, consumer prices soared. Income taxes were increased to support the war and as a consequence of these two factors, many workers suffered.
Despite this, appeals to buy war bonds were highly successful. The purchase of wartime bonds had the result of shifting the cost of the war to the taxpayers of later administrations. The War Industries Board was led by Bernard Baruch. It was established to set U.S. war manufacturing policies and goals. A future US President, Herbert Hoover, led the Food Administration, which encouraged the nation to conserve food. The Federal Fuel Administration introduced daylight saving time and rationed fuel supplies.
A number of antiwar groups united against Wilson and against the US war effort. These included anarchists, communists, and members of a union known as the Industrial Workers of the World members (the IWW, also known as the "Wobblies"). Their leader was William Dudley Haywood, better known as "Big Bill" Haywood. He was a founding member and leader of the IWW and a member of the executive committee of the Socialist Party of America. During the first two decades of the 20th century, he was involved in several important labor battles, including the Colorado Labor Wars, the Lawrence Textile Strike, and other textile strikes in Massachusetts and New Jersey. Never one to shy from violence in labor disputes, Haywood was frequently the target of criminal prosecutors. In 1997 he was acquitted at trial for the murder of Frank Steunenberg, a former governor of Idaho and a man who had clashed with unions as governor.
These groups were perceived by government as attempting to sabotage the war effort. They were targeted by the Department of Justice and many of their leaders were arrested for incitement to violence, espionage, or sedition. Wilson established a propaganda office known as the United States Committee on Public Information, headed by George Creel. It became referred to as the "Creel Commission" and it circulated patriotic anti-German appeals and conducted censorship of materials considered seditious. Wilson pressed Congress to pass the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 to suppress anti-British, pro-German, or anti-war statements. He called for the arrest and deportation of any foreign-born enemies of the US war effort. Many recent immigrants, resident aliens without U.S. citizenship, who opposed America's participation in the war were deported to Soviet Russia or other nations under the powers granted in the Immigration Act of 1918.
Haywood and the IWW had frequently clashed with the government during their labor actions prior to the war. The laws passed to prevent anti-government speech gave the federal government the opportunity to take action against Haywood and the IWW during the war. The Department of Justice used the authority of the newly passed Espionage Act of 1917 to authorize the raid of forty-eight IWW meeting halls on September 5, 1917. With Wilson's direct approval, the Department of Justice proceeded to arrest 165 IWW members for "conspiring to hinder the draft, encourage desertion, and intimidate others in connection with labor disputes." Big Bill Haywood was one of the men arrested.
In April 1918, Haywood and 100 of the arrested IWW members began their trial, presided over by Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. The trial lasted five months, and it was the longest criminal trial ever held up to that time. Haywood testified in his own defense and was on the witness stand for three days. At the conclusion of the trial all 101 defendants were found guilty, and Haywood (along with fourteen others) was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
Despite the efforts of his supporters and his legal team, Haywood was unable to overturn the conviction on appeal. In 1921, while on bail pending appeal, Haywood fled to Russia. IWW officials were surprised by the move. Haywood's lawyer told the press "Haywood has committed hara-kiri so far as the labor movement is concerned if he has really run away. He will be disowned by the IWW and all sympathizers." A bond in the amount of $15,000 had been posted by millionaire supporter William Bross Lloyd. It was forfeited after Haywood's flight.
In Russia, Haywood became a labor advisor to Lenin's Bolshevik government. He and served in that position until 1923 and also helped to found the Kuzbass Autonomous Industrial Colony. Some who visited Haywood's small Moscow apartment reported that he felt lonely and depressed, and expressed a desire to return to the United States. In 1926 he married a Russian wife, even though neither spoke the other's language. On May 18, 1928, Haywood died in a Moscow hospital from a stroke brought on by alcoholism and diabetes. Half of his ashes were buried in the Kremlin wall; an urn containing the other half of his ashes was sent to Chicago and buried near the Haymarket Martyrs' Monument.
In the 1918 mid-term elections, Republicans successfully picked up majorities in both houses of Congress. Part of the reason was was believed to be a backlash against Wilson's extreme measures targeting free speech.
Wilson treated those unions that supported the effort very favorably. These groups included the American Federation of Labor, led by Gompers. Wilson worked closely with Gompers and the AFL, and with the railroad brotherhoods, and other supportive unions. In turn, these groups saw enormous growth in membership and wages during Wilson's administration. Rationing was not instituted and as such, consumer prices soared. Income taxes were increased to support the war and as a consequence of these two factors, many workers suffered.
Despite this, appeals to buy war bonds were highly successful. The purchase of wartime bonds had the result of shifting the cost of the war to the taxpayers of later administrations. The War Industries Board was led by Bernard Baruch. It was established to set U.S. war manufacturing policies and goals. A future US President, Herbert Hoover, led the Food Administration, which encouraged the nation to conserve food. The Federal Fuel Administration introduced daylight saving time and rationed fuel supplies.
A number of antiwar groups united against Wilson and against the US war effort. These included anarchists, communists, and members of a union known as the Industrial Workers of the World members (the IWW, also known as the "Wobblies"). Their leader was William Dudley Haywood, better known as "Big Bill" Haywood. He was a founding member and leader of the IWW and a member of the executive committee of the Socialist Party of America. During the first two decades of the 20th century, he was involved in several important labor battles, including the Colorado Labor Wars, the Lawrence Textile Strike, and other textile strikes in Massachusetts and New Jersey. Never one to shy from violence in labor disputes, Haywood was frequently the target of criminal prosecutors. In 1997 he was acquitted at trial for the murder of Frank Steunenberg, a former governor of Idaho and a man who had clashed with unions as governor.
These groups were perceived by government as attempting to sabotage the war effort. They were targeted by the Department of Justice and many of their leaders were arrested for incitement to violence, espionage, or sedition. Wilson established a propaganda office known as the United States Committee on Public Information, headed by George Creel. It became referred to as the "Creel Commission" and it circulated patriotic anti-German appeals and conducted censorship of materials considered seditious. Wilson pressed Congress to pass the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 to suppress anti-British, pro-German, or anti-war statements. He called for the arrest and deportation of any foreign-born enemies of the US war effort. Many recent immigrants, resident aliens without U.S. citizenship, who opposed America's participation in the war were deported to Soviet Russia or other nations under the powers granted in the Immigration Act of 1918.
Haywood and the IWW had frequently clashed with the government during their labor actions prior to the war. The laws passed to prevent anti-government speech gave the federal government the opportunity to take action against Haywood and the IWW during the war. The Department of Justice used the authority of the newly passed Espionage Act of 1917 to authorize the raid of forty-eight IWW meeting halls on September 5, 1917. With Wilson's direct approval, the Department of Justice proceeded to arrest 165 IWW members for "conspiring to hinder the draft, encourage desertion, and intimidate others in connection with labor disputes." Big Bill Haywood was one of the men arrested.
In April 1918, Haywood and 100 of the arrested IWW members began their trial, presided over by Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. The trial lasted five months, and it was the longest criminal trial ever held up to that time. Haywood testified in his own defense and was on the witness stand for three days. At the conclusion of the trial all 101 defendants were found guilty, and Haywood (along with fourteen others) was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
Despite the efforts of his supporters and his legal team, Haywood was unable to overturn the conviction on appeal. In 1921, while on bail pending appeal, Haywood fled to Russia. IWW officials were surprised by the move. Haywood's lawyer told the press "Haywood has committed hara-kiri so far as the labor movement is concerned if he has really run away. He will be disowned by the IWW and all sympathizers." A bond in the amount of $15,000 had been posted by millionaire supporter William Bross Lloyd. It was forfeited after Haywood's flight.
In Russia, Haywood became a labor advisor to Lenin's Bolshevik government. He and served in that position until 1923 and also helped to found the Kuzbass Autonomous Industrial Colony. Some who visited Haywood's small Moscow apartment reported that he felt lonely and depressed, and expressed a desire to return to the United States. In 1926 he married a Russian wife, even though neither spoke the other's language. On May 18, 1928, Haywood died in a Moscow hospital from a stroke brought on by alcoholism and diabetes. Half of his ashes were buried in the Kremlin wall; an urn containing the other half of his ashes was sent to Chicago and buried near the Haymarket Martyrs' Monument.
In the 1918 mid-term elections, Republicans successfully picked up majorities in both houses of Congress. Part of the reason was was believed to be a backlash against Wilson's extreme measures targeting free speech.