Frederick Douglass: Activist, Orator, Publisher, Statesman

Unquestionably, the single greatest leap forward in the quest for social and economic justice is the abolition of slavery. In the United States, after decades of struggle and a bloody civil war, slavery was formally abolished in 1865. Today, while...

A Checkered Past

Offering a range of “private investigative” services, the Pinkerton Detective Agency was founded in 1850 and at first specialized in train robberies: the protection of railroad property. By the late 1860s, however, Pinkerton agents were protecting...

Postal Workers ‘In the Line of Duty’

Postal workers are sworn to uphold the Constitution and protect the mail. Since 1775, we have honored our pledge to defend the security of the mail, on which much of our nation’s commerce and communication system has always depended. From the...

John L. Lewis: A Giant Among Labor Leaders

A dominant figure in labor history, John L. Lewis was the founding force behind several national unions and a leader of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) for more than 40 years. In aiding the union struggle for better wages and benefits, he...

Joe Hill: Labor’s Legendary Troubadour

At sunrise on Nov. 19, 1915, a firing squad at the Utah State Penitentiary executed a labor activist who many people believed had been falsely convicted of murder. Nearly a century later, the legend of “Joe Hill” is frequently invoked in the ongoing...

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