Page 45 - All About History - Issue 16-14

What was it like?
BOSTON, 1919

Police
The grievances of the Boston police
force that led to the strike had been
filed long before there was talk of
unionising, and they were similar to
the complaints of workers all over
the country. There hadn’t been any
pay rises in 60 years, officers had
one day off every two weeks (with
73 to 98-hour work weeks), and the
police stations were in grotesque
Changes in Europe had
condition. When the Protestant an effect on life in Boston
city heads began telling
the largely Irish-Catholic
workforce they couldn’t have Finance
their demands, the conflict With the war in Europe over, the US no longer produced
quickly escalated. huge quantities of war-effort machines and goods, so jobs
began to dry up. Boston’s industrial base had begun to fall
apart as the initial boom in factories like the Porter Motor
Government Company declined at the start of the century as they moved
away, looking for cheaper labour. Farm prices fell, factories
Boston’s governor would take his iron will to the White House were producing nothing, and the US fell into recession.
when he was elected President in 1923. Coolidge had run
unopposed for the Republican nomination for the governorship
Recession and debts plagued most
of Massachusetts in 1918 but only just beat his Democrat ordinary people at this time
opponent. His hard line on the police strikes made an impression
around the country and played a key role in his policial success.

Media
wspapers sided with their government against
e perceived communist menace. Terms like
olshevism’ and ‘Red Unionite’ were thrown
ound, while the idea that the police could give
their duties was unthinkable. The five major
ston newspapers sided with Coolidge, backing
e governor against the threat of Bolshevism.
ommunist newspaper The Revolutionary Age
oved from Boston to New York before the strike

The Boston Beer Company was one
Industry of the city’s industrial cornerstones

One of the biggest industries at
the time was the US steel industry,
with steelworks all around the
country. Boston’s traditional
industries, including textiles and
glass, disappeared as the bosses
looked elsewhere for cheaper
labour. It was here where the roots
of unionisation took place, fighting
low wages and a 12-hour work day,
leading to an attempted strike in
1919 in Chicago. Bosses blamed
immigrant workers and encouraged
native-born labourers to come back
to work, while police in Pittsburgh
publicly assaulted striking workers.

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