United States 1934

Synopsis

An estimated 400,000 to 500,000 southern millworkers and their northern counterparts walked off the job in a general strike in September 1934. This is now often referred to as the Great Uprising of '34. That this strike was mobilized at all is worth noting. The southern United States has been historically opposed to unionism of any stripe. The millworkers themselves were typically unfamiliar with factory life as most had been farmers. The strikes led to violence and deaths and gained little in the way of concession for workers who walked out in hopes of securing higher wages, shorter workdays, and better conditions.

Timeline

• 1919: With the formation of the Third International (Comintern), the Bolshevik government of Russia establishes its control over communist movements worldwide.
• 1924: In the United States, Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall, along with oil company executives Harry Sinclair and Edward L...