Summary

Unrest around the treatment of workers in the United States had been brewing for a long time and finally came to a head after World War One, when citizens were no longer preoccupied with the war effort. In search of better pay, shorter working hours, and safer conditions, American workers launched a series of labor strikes in 1919. The first was in Seattle, where the first general strike of all workers in the city occurred. Ultimately, the strike was unsuccessful when the mayor refused to let workers unionize and brought in the US Army to force them to go back to work.

Another major strike was the Boston Police Strike, which raised the important question of whether or not public servants should be able to strike against the government that employs them. Boston Police formed an unofficial union while government...