The story of one of America's most famous labor leaders, this autobiography provides a firsthand account of the early years of the Industrial Workers of the World and the struggles of workers during the early 20th century. Haywood's story is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of the American labor movement. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

In the early 20th century, immigration, labor unrest, social reforms and government regulations threatened the power of the country's largest employers. The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company of Manchester, New Hampshire, remained successful by controlling its workforce, the local media, and local and state government. When a 1912 strike in nearby Lawrence, Massachusetts, threatened to bring the Industrial Workers of the World union to Manchester, the company sought to reassert its influence. Amoskeag worked to promote company pride and to Americanize its many foreign-born workers through benevolence programs, including a baseball club. Textile Field, the most advanced stadium in New England outside of Boston when it was built in 1913, was the centerpiece of this effort. Results were mixed--the company found itself at odds with social movements and new media outlets, and Textile Field became a magnet for conflict with all of professional baseball.

This is William D. Haywood's own story, written during the last year of his life. A heroic giant of the American labor movement during its most turbulent years, "Big Bill" was a Socialist and a founder and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Born in Salt Lake City, he went into the Nevada metal mines at the age of 15 and joined the Western Federation of Miners in 1896 at 27. At 31, he was Secretary-Treasurer of the WFM and led its epic struggles against the mining trusts. He became the storm center of many other great labor struggles on the eve of the first World War, including the strikes of textile workers in Lawrence, Mass. and in Paterson, N.J. He also led the militant Wobbly "Free Speech" fights, and was prosecuted for opposing U.S. entry into World War I. His story, a swift moving narrative as absorbing as a novel, should be known to the present generation.

Hailed as "toweringly important" (Baltimore Sun), "a work of scrupulous and significant reportage" (E. L. Doctorow), and "an unforgettable historical drama" (Chicago Sun-Times), Big Trouble brings to life the astonishing case that ultimately engaged President Theodore Roosevelt, Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, and the politics and passions of an entire nation at century's turn. After Idaho's former governor is blown up by a bomb at his garden gate at Christmastime 1905, America's most celebrated detective, Pinkerton James McParland, takes over the investigation. His daringly executed plan to kidnap the radical union leader "Big Bill" Haywood from Colorado to stand trial in Idaho sets the stage for a memorable courtroom confrontation between the flamboyant prosecutor, progressive senator William Borah, and the young defender of the dispossessed, Clarence Darrow. Big Trouble captures the tumultuous first decade of the twentieth century, when capital and labor, particularly in the raw, acquisitive West, were pitted against each other in something close to class war. Lukas paints a vivid portrait of a time and place in which actress Ethel Barrymore, baseball phenom Walter Johnson, and editor William Allen White jostled with railroad magnate E. H. Harriman, socialist Eugene V. Debs, gunslinger Charlie Siringo, and Operative 21, the intrepid Pinkerton agent who infiltrated Darrow's defense team. This is a grand narrative of the United States as it charged, full of hope and trepidation, into the twentieth century.

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ‘BIG BILL’ HAYWOOD This is William D. Haywood’s own story, written during the last year of his life. An heroic giant of the American labor movement during its most turbulent years, “Big Bill” was a Socialist and a founder and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Born in Salt Lake City, he went into the Nevada metal mines at the age of 15, and joined the Western Federation of Miners in 1896 at 25. At 31, he was Secretary-Treasurer of the WFM, and led its epic struggles against the mining trusts. He became the storm center of many other great labor struggles on the eve of the First World War, including the strikes of textile workers in Lawrence, Mass., and in Paterson, N.J. He also led the militant Wobbly “Free Speech” fights, and was prosecuted for opposing U.S. entry into World War I. His story, a swift moving narrative as absorbing as a novel, should be known to the present generation.