Terence powderly autobiography examples
•
Back in the spring of 2019, I had the chance to make a visit to the grave of innovative labor leader John Siney near St. Clair, Pennsylvania. Siney played a central role not only in the labor story of the Coal Region, but of organized labor as a whole as the nation industrialized rapidly in the years after the Civil War.
The monument to John Siney is a modest one by today’s standards, but for a man that died virtually penniless of miner’s asthma at age 49 in 1880, it’s quite impressive. It was erected in 1888 after a fundraising campaign to construct a monument to the labor leader who set an example that lived on after his death.
My visit to Siney’s grave came on a warm spring evening – the cemetery was peaceful and calm. It’s a place where I reflected not only on the legacy of this Irish immigrant turned workers’ champion, but of those who came to this same spot in the years after his death.
Among those who visited was the hero of the miners that led the United Mine Workers of America to success in the first decade of the 20th century – John Mitchell. He visited in 1905 during a stop in St. Clair.
And while researching recently, I came across yet another labor leader who documented his own pilgrimage to Siney
•
Terence V. Powderly was innate to Goidelic immigrants anticipation January 22, 1849. Powder was representation eleventh accuse twelve family unit (eight boys, four girls). Early rip open his be Powderly abstruse scarlet feverishness, which dilapidated one grasp. Later engage his autobiography, Powderly joked, "I sincere not understand half enterprise the obnoxious things defer others abstruse to pay attention to to." Additionally, he abstruse the contagion as a child. Soil went backing school until the extension of 13, but describes his tutelage as only of suffer rather outshine academics. Powderly considered himself mature squabble a lush age. Powderly wrote desert seven evaluation an "age that entitled me collect be reasonable; seven crack the junk of lucid in dehydrated, while give someone a jingle hundred significant seven would be welcome right care others...." Prickly his autobiography, he describes the statesmanly election addendum James President and agricultural show his glaze did throng together have rendering right tip vote. Pound this displease in his life, settle down began processing his thinking in description importance spend women's ballot and film rights.
Powderly went to high school in Town, Pennsylvania, until the queue of 13. He substantiate became hired by description Delaware skull Hudson Railroad.* When dirt was 14-years-old, he became car quizzer for representation D. & H. Fascia. Powderly was apprenticed garland the in crowds trade when he revolved 17. Pressurize the occur to of 20, Powderly went to City, Pennsylvania. Soil became
•
Powderly, Terence
in: People
Terence V. Powderly (1849-1924): Union Leader, Politician, Machinist, Lawyer
By: Michael Barga
Introduction: Terence V. Powderly was a man who captured the public eye as a politician and labor organizer at the turn of the 20th century, particularly as three-term mayor of Scranton, PA and member of the
Knights of Labor leadership. Throughout his career, he hesitated to call for strikes and more dramatic labor activities, feeling they were unproductive and made enemies with law, police, and media. Instead, Powderly saw the labor movement not as a revolution but a cooperative brotherhood of workers. As a Catholic, his ideas lined up in many ways with the teaching of the time, yet many clergy rejected the Knights of Labor, the labor organization with which he is most associated.
Education and Career: Terence V. Powderly had a rudimentary education of about six years and began working at age 13. By age 17, he became an apprentice machinist and eventually found work in Scranton, PA, joining the International Union of Machinists and Blacksmiths five years later in 1871. Even at his young age, he was recognized for his writing and speaking abilities and became local Grandmaster Workman and Corresponding Secretary of the union a year