2020.025.001

Coverage of the conception of Lawrence through the 1912 strike that came to be known as 'The Bread and Roses Strike of 1912'. February 24, 1912 was the catalyst for the United States Congress to start an investigation into the condition of mill workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The attempts by parents to send their children away from the violence, the mill pay that was not enough to feed and clothe the workers, the disregard of the business owners for the wellbeing of their employees became a national issue. The US Congress began asking the questions: do American workers have rights within their jobs, do American employers have responsibilities to those who work for them, and does the federal government have a role to play in American industry. This book covers the strikers story, the union organizer Joseph Ettor of the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World), the death of Anna LoPizzo - a striker shot during a skirmish of the police, militia and striking millworkers, the congressional testimony of underage mill workers, the testimony of Margaret Sanger - a nurse who accompanied many of the children to New York, the severe head injury suffered by Camella Teoli,. The workers agreed to the terms of the new wage amounts on March 14, 1912, ending the strike.

The book is inscribed, "To the children of Lawrence / Julie Baker"