The Fire Never Dies: Labor's Star Ascendant

[Meshakhad]

EXPLOSION AT SARATOGA HOTEL

Caldwell, Idaho, December 30, 1905

At 10:05 this morning, an explosion rocked the Saratoga Hotel. The source was soon identified as coming from room #19. Upon entering the room, sheriff’s deputies identified the sole casualty: the room’s resident, one Tom Hogan[1]. It is possible that Mr. Hogan was experimenting with dangerous chemicals and accidentally blew himself up, although the blast was sufficiently powerful that the reason for this disturbing incident will likely never be known…

- Caldwell Times

[1] Tom Hogan is better known to history as Harry Orchard (born Albert Horsley). IOTL, that evening he would successfully plant his bomb on the gate of the house of former Idaho governor Frank Steunenberg, killing Steunenberg when he tried to open the gate. Orchard (a paid informant for the Cripple Creek Mine Owners’ Association) would later confess to the crime, claiming to have committed it under orders from William “Big Bill” Haywood, Charles Moyer, and George Pettibone, leaders of the Western Federation of Miners. Haywood, Moyer, and Pettibone would ultimately be found innocent, but the trial led to a schism between the WFM and the Industrial Workers of the World.

ITTL, Orchard accidentally blows himself up while preparing the bomb. The assassination of Steunenberg, the trial, and the WFM-IWW schism are all averted.

 

[Meshakhad]

“…the 1906 IWW convention is best remembered for Eugene Debs’s ‘All Fronts’ speech. Among the issues facing the IWW at the convention was whether or not the IWW should engage in political activity or focus all its efforts on direct labor action (i.e. strikes). A significant faction believed that any engagement with the bourgeois political system would simply strengthen it[1]. In his speech, Debsargued that all avenues of action should be pursued simultaneously, that the IWW should be active ‘on all fronts’. Following this, Daniel DeLeon, leader of the Socialist Labor Party, proposed an amendment to the IWW constitution, whereby the union as a whole would not endorse candidates, but local branches would be free to do so. Militant branches could simply abstain from engaging with local politics at their discretion, while moderates could endorse local candidates without seeking approval from the union as a whole, nor would there be any requirement to endorse a particular party…[2]”

- From One Big Idea: The Industrial Workers of the World Before the Revolution by Condoleeza Rice

[1] IOTL, this militant faction won out, which also contributed to the WFM-IWW schism.

[2] IOTL, DeLeon advocated for the IWW to be formally tied to the Socialist Labor Party. His refusal to back down led to him attempting to form a splinter group in 1908. Here, he accepts a compromise, knowing that the IWW will usually endorse SLP candidates anyway.

 

[Meshakhad]

“…the IWW had come to dominate the boomtown of Goldfield, Nevada. Most of the town’s businesses were organized through the IWW, save only the typesetters at the Goldfield Sun and the carpenters, both of whom were still affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and resisted joining the IWW…

…Many radicals wanted to force them to do so through a strike, but moderates in the WFM balked. Instead, IWW members circulated a petition to incorporate Goldfield and establish a proper municipal government with an elected mayor and a town council[1]. This was soon approved by the Esmeralda County Board of Commissioners, but then IWW organizer Vincent St. John[2] ran for mayor, winning in a landslide despite fierce opposition from the local mine owners. The town council was similarly dominated by the IWW. With the town itself now under IWW control, and with assurances that they would be allowed to run their own locals, the typesetters and carpenters joined the IWW[3]. Goldfield subsequently became the first American municipality to formally title itself as a commune instead of a town or city, reflecting its radical socialist character. This began a trend of IWW organizers seeking local political office, particularly mayorships of small towns, and then instituting revolutionary policies…”

- From One Big Idea: The Industrial Workers of the World Before the Revolution by Condoleeza Rice

[1] IOTL, this never happened. Thanks to the Goldfield Historical Society for their assistance!

[2] IOTL, he pushed for more radical action. ITTL, he opts for the political approach.

[3] The Goldfield typesetters and carpenters never joined the IWW ITTL, and this eventually led to the IWW losing their dominance in the town.

 

[Meshakhad]

“…under pressure from the IWW, particularly Eugene Debs, Daniel DeLeon and other leaders of the SLP agreed to a conference with the SPA to discuss mending the schism between them. The Chicago Conference, held in June of 1907, was a tense affair, in no small part due to DeLeon’s stubbornness. Debs, however, won him over by suggesting that the ‘One Big Union’ concept of the IWW could apply in the political sphere…

…Much debate was over which party should absorb the other. Eventually, given the SLP being the older party and having more electoral success of late[1], the Socialist Party of America agreed to rejoin the Socialist Labor Party in return for leadership positions, including Victor L. Berger being named General Secretary. DeLeon did retain his position as editor of The Weekly People and was placed on the list of potential candidates for elected office. At the top of the list, of course, was Eugene Debs, who would be nominated for the Presidency again in 1908…”

- From Socialists of America Unite! A History of the Socialist Labor Party by Aaron Sorkin

[1] IOTL, the SPA had been slightly more successful, having won more votes in the last presidential elections.

 

[Meshakhad]

“…while none would ever say so publicly, no one in the SLP had any serious hopes that Eugene Debs might win the Presidency in 1908. A few had even argued against spending any serious effort on a presidential campaign, and that instead the SLP should focus on winning local and congressional elections, or even offer its endorsement to another candidate. But to not run a Presidential candidate would be tantamount to admitting that the American people would never accept socialism. Instead, the Debs campaign worked to support local candidates and socialist causes across the country…

…at times, Debs seemed to be campaigning for the IWW as much as the SLP. His first stop after winning the nomination was not Chicago or New York, but Pensacola, Florida, where streetcar workers were protesting a company rule that suspended workers had to report to the company’s car barn thrice daily for a roll call[1]. Debs toured the picket lines and promised IWW support for the workers. While Debs was in Pensacola, strikebreakers arrived, but were driven off by IWW members and SLP supporters, many of whom had traveled for days to see Debs. With many of their other workers threatening to go on strike, the Pensacola Electric Company gave in to the strikers’ demands[2]…

…Despite Democratic hopes of “third time’s a charm”, William Jennings Bryan would go down to defeat at the hands of William Howard Taft[3]. Despite not coming close to winning the Presidency, the mood of the SLP on Election Night was triumphant. Debs had secured over a million votes[4], beating every other minor party combined. Furthermore, the SLP had made other wins. Several SLP candidates had won seats on city councils and state legislatures. They had even pushed their way into Congress, as Meyer London and Victor Berger had been elected to the House of Representatives, representing districts in Manhattan and Milwaukee, respectively[5]…"

- From Socialists of America Unite! A History of the Socialist Labor Party by Aaron Sorkin

[1] The strike occurred IOTL, but ended on May 13, literally the day before Debs won the nomination. Here, butterflies (and a bit of IWW support) extend the strike long enough for Debs to show up.

[2] IOTL, the strikebreakers were eventually supported by state militia, and the strike failed.

[3] Yes, the two leading candidates in the 1908 election were both named William. For that matter, the next two (both IOTL and ITTL) were named Eugene, the other being Eugene Chafin of the Prohibition Party.

[4] IOTL, Debs (as the SPA candidate) failed to achieve a million votes, only reaching 420,852. Here, a more cohesive socialist movement draws in much greater support.

[5] IOTL, Berger was elected to Congress in 1910 and London in 1914.

 

[Meshakhad]

“…the IWW stood out among other unions of the time in its commitment to racial equality and social justice. Where other unions had viewed immigrants and nonwhites (and especially nonwhite immigrants) as potential scabs and a threat to the white working class, the IWW sought to reach out to them. A high proportion of the IWW membership were immigrants, after all. The IWW’s first published newspaper was not in English, but the Finnish-language Sosialisti[1] in Duluth, Minnesota. Joining the IWW provided immigrants with a support network and made it easy for them to find jobs. Many IWW branches organized regular social functions…

…In Seattle, labor leaders like Harry Ault worked to maintain ties with the Asian-American community and even recruit them. In 1909, Seattle staff of the Amerika Shinpo newspaper founded the Taihoku Nippo (Great Northern Daily News). By 1912, it had absorbed the pro-socialist The Doho, become completely independent and, under the influence of editor Katsunari Sasaki, became a potent radical voice in the Seattle Japanese community[2]…

…These attitudes naturally fed into the SLP. While the two organizations were not officially linked (despite DeLeon’s efforts), they shared a great deal of their membership. The SLP advocated for civil rights, women’s suffrage, and open immigration, often drawing the ire of conservative organizations. However, both organizations remained dominated by white men, although usually of recent immigrant and/or Jewish stock. As such, many anti-socialist figures increasingly adopted what can be best described as “Anglo-Saxon Supremacism with Antisemitic Characteristics”. The IWW and SLP were radical organizations composed of mongrels and Negroes led by the castoffs of Europe who wanted to destroy everything that was good and decent in American society…

- From One Big Idea: The Industrial Workers of the World Before the Revolution by Condoleeza Rice

[1] Better-known IOTL as Industrialisti.

[2] IOTL, the Taihoku Nippo became independent in 1913 under Kojiro Takeuchi, and never became a radical publication (although it did support strikes and discourage its readers from becoming strikebreakers). The Doho folded in 1909 IOTL, but survives long enough to merge with (and radicalize) the Taihoku Nippo, with Sasaki (founder of The Doho) becoming editor instead of Takeuchi.

 

[Meshakhad]

…In the fall of 1908, I had become the editor of Pravda[1], which I had hoped would become a potent tool for bringing the revolution to Russia. However, the realities of running a revolutionary paper in exile made it clear to me how difficult it would be. The simple truth is that the Russian peasants remained trapped in ignorance and illiteracy. Even if we managed to smuggle copies of Pravda into Russia (which we did) most Russians could not read them…

…It was my friend Adolph Joffe[2] who helped explain to me the true significance of the 1908 elections in America. I had assumed that with such a small total of votes, and a mere two seats in Congress, the American socialists must be a tiny sliver of the population. Joffe was more knowledgeable about the American political system, and he pointed out how the system was designed to ensure the dominance of the two major parties. That the Socialist Labor Party had broken through this to win representation at the national level, particularly after they had successfully mended their schism with the SPA, was a sign of the strength of the American socialist movement…

…I decided that I should travel to America. Perhaps I could learn from the American socialists, or at least determine the full level of their success. In the spring of 1909, I took ship from Trieste, arriving a few weeks later in New York. At the time, I was still going by Trotsky, but I considered that my name might be on some proscribed list, so I used my birth name of Bronstein, presenting myself as just another Jew fleeing Russia. It was not long before I found myself at an IWW hall in Manhattan. Having spent the time aboard ship and on Ellis Island using Bronstein, I unwittingly introduced myself by that name. Another Jewish comrade, learning that I edited a socialist magazine in Europe, said he could get me a job at a print shop…

…At the end of my first day as an American worker, I made two decisions. First, being perceived as Jewish was actually an advantage. I would continue to use Trotsky as a pen name when writing for Pravda, but when I dealt with my American comrades, I would go by Bronstein. Second, it was clear that America was more fertile ground for socialism than Russia. Far more Americans were literate and worked at industrial jobs. Americans were also not so bound by tradition as Russians, especially as so many Americans were immigrants. I continued to write for Pravda, but I would not return to Vienna. Instead, the next day, I joined the Industrial Workers of the World…

- From My Life by General Leon Bronstein

[1] IOTL.

[2] A fellow Russian-Jewish émigré and close friend of Trotsky, who later became a Soviet diplomat.

 

[Meshakhad]

…The history of organized labor in Pennsylvania is a particularly bloody one. Over 100 workers in Pennsylvania had died in labor disputes in the 19th century, more than any other state[1]. The SLP had made a strong showing there in 1908, electing James H. Maurer to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives[2]. In some cases, bosses at firms with strong IWW membership tried to prevent their employees from voting at all, which only served to radicalize them…

…In July 1909, workers at the Pressed Steel Car Company in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania went on strike. At the center of their grievances was the “Baldwin contract”, under which jobs were parceled out to foreman, who were contracted to get the work done for a lump sum. The money would be divided among the men who did the job, leading to highly irregular rates of pay. On top of that, many foremen demanded kickbacks so workers could keep their jobs[3]…

…Rather than negotiate, the Pressed Steel Car Company brought in strikebreakers, mostly black, Italian, and Jewish, organized by notorious strikebreaker Pearl Bergoff. Unfortunately for them, the strikebreakers themselves had been infiltrated by the IWW, who engaged in various methods of sabotage to ensure that productivity was minimal[4]. Violence broke out on July 12 when deputy sheriffs began evicting striking workers from company housing. They were partially stopped by a hastily-organized IWW militia that formed a cordon around a section of housing. Several IWW members, including one of its founders, William Trautmann, were arrested, and five strikers were killed[5]. Photos of families being evicted stirred up public sentiment against the company. In September, the Pressed Steel Car Company agreed to a wage increase and the abolition of the Baldwin contract, ending the strike in a victory for the workers[6]…

…The Pressed Steel Car Strike was a noteworthy victory for the socialist cause, demonstrating that they could indeed win against the bosses. It strengthened the positions of those who championed direct action. Those who favored political efforts noted how later that year, James Maurer shot down a bill to create a state constabulary in Pennsylvania[7]. Leon Bronstein, then writing for the Russian-language journal Pravda, noted the success of forceful resistance against law enforcement…

- From One Big Idea: The Industrial Workers of the World Before the Revolution by Condoleeza Rice



[1] Sadly OTL.

[2] Two years before he did so IOTL.

[3] Both the strike and the Baldwin contract are OTL.

[4] This tactic wasn’t employed at the IOTL Pressed Steel Car Strike, but has been attempted elsewhere.

[5] The militia is a new element, but Trautmann was arrested IOTL, and somewhere between 4 and 8 strikers were killed.

[6] Same outcome as IOTL.

[7] IOTL the bill was introduced in 1912, and it succeeded despite Maurer’s opposition. ITTL, the bill’s advocates introduce it as a response to the Pressed Steel Car Strike, only to run into public support for the strike.

 

[Meshakhad]

…The temperance movement reached its peak in the first decade of the 1900s. The Prohibition Party had been a consistent player in the Third Party System, drawing in support from groups as diverse as suffragettes, religious leaders, and labor organizers. In 1892, John Bidwell won 2.24% of the national vote on the Prohibition ticket[1]…

…One group that had never been in favor of Prohibition were immigrants, particularly Irish and German immigrants. Indeed, one of the motivations behind the temperance movement was anti-immigrant sentiment. This brought the temperance movement into direct conflict with the immigrant-backed socialist movement. A few socialists did support temperance, calling alcohol a tool of the bourgeoisie to keep the proletariat numb to the reality of capitalism, but that stance was firmly rejected by the majority, and both Eugene Debs and Daniel DeLeon made sure that nothing that even smacked of Prohibition made it into the SLP platform. SLP elected officials fought anti-saloon bills where they could, and IWW organizers used the specter of Prohibition to organize in breweries, distilleries, vineyards, hops farms, and saloons…

…In addition to winning over organized labor, the SLP also threatened one of the pillars of the temperance movement: women. Suffragists had long championed temperance as a means to reduce male violence against women. However, while many older unions remained patriarchal, the IWW was committed to full gender equality. The divide increasingly fell along class lines, with educated women supporting Prohibition, while working-class women aligned with the IWW. Occasionally, this led to the two groups cooperating, such as in Washington State, where State Representative William Z. Foster mobilized the IWW in support of the 1910 amendment to the state constitution granting women the right to vote[2]. But in 1914, when the Anti-Saloon League lobbied for a voter initiative banning the manufacture and sale of alcohol, it failed in the face of fierce IWW opposition[3]…

…The temperance movement persisted, but its grassroots support had been sapped. Those who remained drifted into anti-socialist rhetoric, although labeling them as proto-falangists is a gross exaggeration. In 1916, the Prohibition Party opted not to field a candidate but instead endorse Woodrow Wilson. After the Revolution, the party was disbanded, and temperance condemned to the fringe of American politics…

- From The Rise and Fall of the Prohibition Party by Aviva Chomsky

[1] IOTL.

[2] The amendment passed IOTL, but ITTL the SLP takes a lot of the credit, drawing more women in Washington towards socialism.

[3] IOTL, the initiative passed.

 

[Meshakhad]

…While the IWW trumpeted victories like in Pensacola, for the most part the South remained largely hostile to socialism. Racism ran deep in the South, so deep that racial identities continually overrode any sense of class consciousness. Southern whites, while no more favorably inclined to the bosses than their Yankee counterparts, were also strongly protective of their status above the black man, and the IWW’s insistence on racial equality regularly turned them away. The fact that blacks were frequently used as strikebreakers did not help in the least…

…Organizing among black workers was at least as hard, if for different reasons. First of all, most IWW organizers were white, and many black workers were skeptical of some white man coming down from the North telling them how to organize. And if they did organize, they were often ruthlessly crushed…

…There were some bright spots. Not all Southern whites feared that blacks could take their jobs. For some, such as teachers, they would be barred from doing so. The IWW began organizing among these professions, leaving racial politics aside for the moment. As such, a high percentage of IWW members from the South were in skilled labor of one kind or another…

…Louisiana proved the Southern state most amenable to socialism. Perhaps due to the history of Creoles, who were often much wealthier than most blacks, organizing across racial lines proved easier. In 1910, Arthur Lee Emerson and Jay Smith organized the Brotherhood of Timber Workers at sawmills in Louisiana and East Texas, affiliated with the IWW and open to all races, as well as women[1]…

…And if getting the message to blacks was not easy, once they listened, they were usually very sympathetic. The IWW was hardly a stranger to state or corporate violence, after all. Effectively barred from the electoral approach of the SLP, black socialists became increasingly radicalized. There was little point in striking when all that would happen is getting beaten to a pulp. Instead, they waited. They spread the word of socialism. They formed mutual aid networks, typically invisible to outsiders. And where they could, they began to create little caches of arms, awaiting the revolution…

- From One Big Idea: The Industrial Workers of the World Before the Revolution by Condoleeza Rice

[1] IOTL, except they didn’t affiliate with the IWW until 1912. ITTL, they do so pretty much right away.

 

[Meshakhad]

…Many people across the country, both sympathetic and opposed to the SLP, had been stunned by their successes in 1908. For the first time, they had sent representatives to Congress, as well as gaining representation in numerous state legislatures. The question was, would 1908 be an outlier? Or was this the beginning of a serious challenge to the two-party system…

…There being no Presidential election, Daniel DeLeon strongly pressured Eugene Debs to run for office. After some consideration, it was decided that Debs would run for the 9th District in Illinois, which included much of Chicago[1]. Due to opposition by local business interests, Republican Henry S. Boutell would not be seeking reelection[2]. Debs capitalized on this, along with his superior name recognition, winning a slim majority…

…He would not be alone. The new class of the House of Representatives included William Trautmann (S-PA), Joseph Ettor (S-NY), Charles Moyer (S-CO), and William Z. Foster (S-WA). Perhaps the biggest sensation was Vincent St. John (S-NV), former mayor of Goldfields. As Nevada still only had one at-large representative, it was the first state to send an all-Socialist delegation to the House. To nobody’s surprise, Debs became House Minority Leader for the SLP, with Victor Berger (S-WI) as Minority Whip…

…The SLP also made gains in state and local offices. In Wisconsin’s gubernatorial election, William A. Jacobs came in second, pulling ahead of Democrat Adolph J. Schmitz[3]. In 1911, twenty-seven states had at least one Socialist in their state legislature (although none had SLP majorities). The SLP held the mayorships of several small towns… and two big ones.

In October of 1910, Seattle suffragist Adela Parker circulated a petition to recall Seattle mayor Hiram Gill, who had reinstated the corrupt Charles “Wappy” Wappenstein as chief of police. The SLP and IWW enthusiastically supported the petition, and America’s first mayoral recall election was held in February 1911. The SLP, naturally, was expected to field a candidate. However, the most prominent local socialist, William Foster, had just been elected to Congress. Labor activist Hulet Wells[4] was considered, until William “Big Bill” Haywood moved to Seattle. He had been planning to do so earlier that year in order to run for Congress alongside Foster, but an illness had delayed the move. Now, he became the obvious candidate. Drawing on the surge in socialist sympathies among Washington’s re-enfranchised female voters[5], Haywood won[6]. Seattle became the second major American city after Milwaukee to elect a Socialist mayor[7]. Those who had hoped that 1908 would be a flash in the pan were sorely disappointed…

- From Socialists of America Unite! A History of the Socialist Labor Party by Aaron Sorkin

[1] I’ve not been able to find a map of Illinois congressional districts in 1910. The 9th is one of the ones that was definitely in Chicago, but I’m unsure of which parts.

[2] OTL.

[3] IOTL, he came in third, albeit with an impressive 12.38% of the vote.

[4] IOTL he won second place in the recall election.

[5] Washington had initially given women the vote in 1883, only for the Territorial Supreme Court to overturn it in 1887.

[6] IOTL, real estate magnate George Dilling won.

[7] Milwaukee elected Emil Seidel both IOTL and ITTL.

 

[Meshakhad]

…In all honesty, the appearance of the Socialists as a serious third party was more smoke than fire. The Democrats had seized a comfortable majority of 225 seats to the Republicans’ 157 and the Socialists’ 8[1]. Both the Democrats and Republicans had lost seats to the Socialists[2], and they had drawn enough votes that a few elections might have gone the other way without the SLP surge[3]. The SLP was also perceived as being much more united and would indeed vote as a bloc. But they remained a tiny party, and few votes were likely to be close enough for them to make a difference…

…Figures in both major parties now viewed the Socialists as a threat. The Republicans were particularly concerned about the West, where they had largely been dominant. Northern Democrats, meanwhile, feared that their immigrant voter base would be slipping away. This was accelerated by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which spelled the beginning of the end for Tammany Hall[4]…

…The culmination of this fear came in the battle over the direct election of senators. The pressure for senators to be elected directly had been building for years. But the SLP surge of 1910 – particularly Vincent St. Johns winning Nevada’s at-large House seat – led many to fear that allowing direct election of senators would see the SLP break into the Senate…

…In 1911, the House of Representatives passed Joint Resolution 39, calling for a constitutional amendment requiring the direct election of senators. This proved to be one of the few times where the SLP had an impact, as they successfully fought against the inclusion of a “race rider” that would have given states control over how senators were elected[5]. While a majority of senators did vote in favor, enough were opposed that it failed to reach the two-thirds majority. This provoked widespread public anger, and several more proposals for the direct election of Senators would be introduced over the next few years, but none succeeded[6]…

- From Socialists of America Unite! A History of the Socialist Labor Party by Aaron Sorkin

[1] IOTL, the 62nd Congress had 228 Democrats, 161 Republicans, and one Socialist (Victor Berger, who is now in his second term ITTL).

[2]Eugene Debs, Meyer London, Joe Ettor, and Charles Moyer took seats held IOTL by Democrats, while William Z. Foster, William Trautmann, and Vincent St. Johns took seats held IOTL by Republicans.

[3]One of the seats in Pennsylvania that would have gone Republican IOTL went Democratic thanks to the SLP.

[4] More on that later…

[5] IOTL, the race rider was included in the initial resolution. The Senate instead passed their own resolution that didn’t include the race rider, which the House passed a year later.

[6] This means that the Seventeenth Amendment is never passed ITTL.

 

[Meshakhad]

…While in exile in Texas, Madero issued his “Plan de San Luis Potosí”, calling for a revolution against Díaz. Madero himself was a liberal from a wealthy family, and actively sought support from American business interests. However, his call to arms inspired many across Mexican society, from opportunists like Pascual Orozco to radicals like Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata…

…The federal army proved unable to defeat the rebels, and in May Díaz sued for peace. The resulting Treaty of Ciudad Juárez saw Díaz resign and go into exile, with the lawyer Francisco León de la Barra becoming interim president until an election in October 1911 (which Madero won decisively). Madero called for revolutionaries to lay down their arms, but Zapata and Orozco refused. Zapata thought Madero had effectively become the continuation of the Díaz regime, while Orozco was slighted over being passed over for governorship of Chihuahua…

…In April 1912, Madero dispatched General Victoriano Huerta to put down Orozco’s revolt. Villa, then a colonel in the state militia, actually supported Madero at this point, leading 400 irregular troops alongside Huerta’s federals. However, in an act of petty jealousy that would lead to generations of Mexican reactionaries to curse his name, Huerta saw Villa as a competitor, not an ally, and had him arrested on trumped-up charges. He was sentenced to death, but escaped and fled across the border into Texas[1], where he soon found sanctuary among American socialists…

- From Viva la Revolucion! A History of the Mexican Revolution by Ambassador John McCain III

[1] All IOTL.

 

[Meshakhad]

…The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire shocked New York City and the nation as a whole. New York City formed a Committee on Public Safety[1] to investigate the cause of the fire. The committee, headed by eyewitness Frances Perkins, found support among Socialists and reformers in the state legislature. Initially, they also received backing from Tammany Hall, but the price proved to be that many of the recommendations were watered down, in the hopes that by portraying the Socialists as ineffective firebrands, the Democrats could win back many working-class votes[2].

…Even the Committee’s wide-ranging recommendations were not enough for many of New York’s workers. Public anger soon focused on the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris. When manslaughter charges were announced, many protested at the lack of a murder charge. On December 29, after two days of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of “not guilty”[3]. But the workers would exact their justice. As Blanck and Harris were ushered out of the courthouse, they were shot at point blank range by Kate Alterman, a witness whose testimony had been discredited on the stand[4]. Alterman was found not guilty by reason of insanity and remanded to a mental asylum, where she remained until the Revolution…

…The failure of the justice system and the weak reforms passed by the state legislature further radicalized New York’s working class. The International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union affiliated itself with the IWW[5], and in 1912 the New York branch of the IWW established their own “Committee of Public Safety”. The CPS, headed by Leon Bronstein, would collect reports of safety violations and then apply pressure to the bosses, be it a threat to go on strike or, in some cases, physical violence…

- From One Big Idea: The Industrial Workers of the World Before the Revolution by Condoleeza Rice

[1] Yes, that was the name they chose IOTL.

[2] IOTL they supported the inquiry wholeheartedly. Of course, Socialists were not a serious force in the New York legislature at this point IOTL.

[3] Same verdict as IOTL, except the deliberations only lasted two hours.

[4] IOTL they were found guilty in a subsequent civil suit, but the damages were less than what they had received in insurance payouts.

[5] They never did so IOTL.

 

[Meshakhad]

…The 1912 election was already looking to be particularly tense. Between the failure of the would-be 17th Amendment and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, there was an increasing note of anger at the current administration. The SLP still had little hope of actually winning the election, but they were now expecting to win states outright…

…Ironically, the old split between electoralism and direct action seemed to have reemerged. Those who had previously dismissed electoralism now advocated for the SLP to focus on winning state and local offices, while others believed that Congress offered the best platform for promoting socialism. Of course, these objectives often ran hand in hand, as securing state legislatures would be necessary to elect any Socialists to the Senate…

…But to their surprise (and slight annoyance), the national attention was on the Republicans. The relationship between President William Howard Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt, once very amicable, was now a rivalry. On March 28, he announced that if he failed to win the Republican nomination, he would run as an independent…

…The Republican convention, held in Chicago, would go down as the last great contested convention in US history. Debs put a pause on his campaign and returned to Chicago, in case an opportunity emerged. Some in the SLP (primarily Congressman Meyer London) even proposed that the SLP could work with Roosevelt if he lost the nomination. The RNC refused permission for any of the openly socialist newspapers to join the press pool, but several employees of the Chicago Coliseum were socialist sympathizers, and they dutifully reported all major events to party headquarters. When the convention re-nominated Taft, and Roosevelt declared his Progressive Party that afternoon, Debs took careful note of who had supported Roosevelt. The splintering of the Republican Party provided opportunities in many elections…

…To their regret, the SLP paid relatively little attention to the Democratic convention. The initial favorite was Speaker of the House Champ Clark, but when he received the support of Tammany Hall, that angered William Jennings Bryan, who endorsed Governor Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey[1]. This was celebrated by the SLP as the death knell for Tammany Hall, opening the door to SLP dominance in New York. While this was certainly true, the nomination of Wilson would prove to have consequences no one could foresee…

…Meanwhile, the SLP was busy with its own affairs. Debs was nominated again without opposition. Emil Seidel, Bill Haywood, and Charles Moyer were all considered as potential running mates, but it was decided that they should focus on their own races[2]. Instead, they offered the nomination to Frances Perkins, who had headed the New York City Committee of Public Safety created after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Perkins, who was disillusioned after her recommendations were watered down, accepted. She not only had widespread name recognition in New York, but she was an educated woman of WASP ancestry, and spent much of her time speaking at universities and women’s organizations, appealing to middle class progressives. SLP candidates were favored in numerous races across the nation, while the districts and offices they had won in 1908 and 1910 seemed secure. And especially with the Republican schism, Debs was now the favorite in a few states…

- From Socialists of America Unite! A History of the Socialist Labor Party by Aaron Sorkin

[1] The Republican and Democratic races are all as IOTL.

[2] IOTL, they went with Seidel.

 

[Meshakhad]

…Roosevelt’s campaign was something completely unprecedented. Not only was it a violation of the unofficial two-term limit that dated back to George Washington, but he was trying to unseat a sitting president – and doing a good job of it. There was every indication that he would at the very least carry several states. Many Republicans decried his campaign as handing the Presidency to the Democrats on a silver platter. Others hitched their wagon to Roosevelt, leading to Republicans and Progressives running against each other, repeating the national pattern in miniature. Generally, Progressives charted a course to the left of Republicans. Reform seemed to be in the air, with some Democrats also championing progressive stances. Socialist candidates often painted their major opponents (be they Democrats, Republicans, or Progressives) as unlikely to deliver on their promises…

…Going into October, the Taft campaign was looking at a disaster. Not only were they expecting to lose to Wilson, but they were also likely to lose to Roosevelt, and maybe even Debs. It would be the greatest of humiliations if a sitting President placed third or fourth in an election[1]. Had this come to pass, it is plausible that the Progressives would have either displaced or taken over the Republican Party[2]…

…On October 14, at a campaign stop in Milwaukee, Roosevelt left the Gilpatrick Hotel, off to deliver a speech at the Milwaukee Auditorium. As he stood and waved to the cheering crowd, a former saloonkeeper named Johannes Schrank shot him in the chest. The bullet penetrated into his chest, ripping through his lung and diaphragm[3]. Coughing up blood, Roosevelt was rushed to the hospital, but it was too late. Less than an hour after the shooting, Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, and now candidate for the Progressive Party, was dead…

- From The Great Contest: The 1912 Election by David McCollum

[1] IOTL, Taft did indeed place behind Roosevelt, the only sitting president to do so.

[2] This didn’t happen IOTL.

[3] IOTL, the bullet was slowed by Roosevelt’s glasses case and speech, becoming lodged in his chest muscle. He famously went on to give his speech before seeking medical attention. Here, the bullet strikes Roosevelt in a different place, mortally wounding him.

 

[Meshakhad]

From "Theodore Roosevelt - Terepedia[1]"

[1] "Tere" is the Maori word for "quick", and also becomes this timeline's version of "wiki".

 

[Meshakhad]

…Schrank was apprehended almost before Roosevelt hit the ground. Police saved him from being murdered by a mob and brought him into custody…

…Milwaukee Mayor Emil Seidel[1], fearing that Schrank would be painted as a socialist (or that he would turn out to be one), moved quickly to investigate the killing. Fortunately, he had recently appointed a new police chief, Joseph Klein[2], who was also a member of the IWW and was on good terms with the Milwaukee Committee of Public Safety. Even more fortunately, Schrank had documents on his person that provided a motivation: he had been visited by the ghost of President William McKinley, who told him to kill Roosevelt and stop him from becoming President again. Schrank would later testify to the same in court, and was eventually committed to the Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Waupun, WI, where he would remain for the rest of his life[3]. While there were many who suspected a wider plot, most inclined in that direction saw Taft and the Republicans as the most likely suspects…

…The murder of a former President demanded a public ceremony. All of Roosevelt’s opponents –Wilson, Debs, even Eugene Chafin of the Prohibition Party – suspended their campaigns and made their way to Washington for the funeral. Theodore Roosevelt was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, as befitted a war hero and former President[4].

…The sudden death of former President Roosevelt threw the Progressive Party into chaos. For all intents and purposes, it was really the Theodore Roosevelt party. There was now no chance that they could win the election. Roosevelt’s running mate, Governor Hiram Johnson of California, tried to replace Roosevelt on the ticket, but most Progressives opted to instead endorse Taft. Johnson would only appear on the ballot in California…

- From The Great Contest: The 1912 Election by David McCollum



Thread Topic: WI Roosevelt was never assassinated?

Ubermanche: Like the title says. Say Schrank misses, or only wounds Roosevelt. Would that have changed the outcome of the election?

Comrade Washington: Unlikely. If anything, a continued splitting of the Republican vote means that Wilson wins the Electoral College in a landslide. Roosevelt might win more votes than Taft, although it’s not like we have anything like modern opinion polling to rely on. It might also dampen the Socialist surge.

BobFromBuffalo: I’ve always thought that the idea that Debs’ performance in 1912 was boosted by Roosevelt supporters going Red to be unrealistic. Oh, there were probably some, but Debs was already doing well. Maybe he loses one of the states that were super close, like Minnesota.

CamBot87: One group that probably did swing heavily towards Debs after Roosevelt died were African-Americans. After all, Taft had pretty much let Southern whites chase them out of government service jobs in the South, and they were hardly going to vote for Wilson. That swing probably made the difference in Debs winning Oklahoma.

BobFromBuffalo: Maybe? But I think the bigger question is: how would Roosevelt have responded to the Revolution?

Comrade Washington: He’d probably have sided with Wilson, honestly. There are a bunch of people in America who see him as a hero, but he never even tried to break all the trusts. I don’t see him supporting the Revolution. If anything, he might have criticized Wilson for staying out of the war so long…

- From www.althistoria.net


[1] Interestingly, Seidel was mayor at this point IOTL, although he would go on to lose the 1912 election to a Democratic-Republican fusion ticket.

[2] Klein served as Milwaukee County deputy sheriff IOTL from 1914 to 1916, and was an SPA member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1918 to 1920.

[3] IOTL.

[4] IOTL, he was laid to rest in a private ceremony in Oyster Bay, New York. ITTL, the shock of his assassination in the middle of a presidential campaign leads to a more public ceremony.

 

[Meshakhad]

…With most of the Progressives returning to the Republican fold, Taft began to actually campaign. There was a chance that he could actually win reelection. However, Roosevelt’s campaign had done its damage, with many Progressives holding a strong animus towards Taft. Some simply stayed home. A few voted for Wilson. Many voted for Debs…

…Governor Wilson ultimately won, carrying twenty-four states, 326 electoral votes, and about 41% of the popular vote. It was a clear plurality, if not a majority. President Taft came in second, winning seventeen states (Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming), 134 electoral votes, and 37% of the popular vote. Governor Johnson would carry California. Finally, Congressman Debs won six states (Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oklahoma, Washington, Wisconsin), 60 electoral votes, and nearly 20% of the popular vote[1]…

…The results included several very close races. Wilson barely held on to his home state of New Jersey. Illinois (Debs’ official home state[2]) was close to a three-way tie, with Wilson, Taft, and Debs winning 35%, 34%, and 29% of the vote respectively. Two of California’s electoral votes went to Wilson[3]. Some in the SLP noted with concern that they had failed to win a majority in any state…

…Congress was similarly chaotic. The SLP held on to its previous seven seats and won twelve more. The Progressives gained five seats[4]. The SLP also gained a majority in the Nevada and Wisconsin state legislatures and pluralities in Washington and New York. Unfortunately, none of these states had Senate elections that year, so the SLP remained shut out of the Senate (as did the Progressives). The SLP also failed to win any governorships, although they had performed respectably in New York, Washington, and Wisconsin…

…On March 4, 1913, Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated as the 28th President of the United States of America. Even then, few could have realized that he would be remembered as the last American President…

- From The Great Contest: The 1912 Election by David McCollum

[1] IOTL, Wilson won in a landslide, and Taft placed below Roosevelt. Debs won no electoral votes, but his popular vote percentage of 6% was the highest a Socialist candidate ever got IOTL. ITTL, there is less Republican vote-splitting overall, although a lot of Progressives go over to Debs.

[2] While Debs is from Terra Haute, Indiana, ITTL he moved to Chicago in 1910 to run for Congress.

[3] This happened IOTL. Taft wasn’t even on the ballot in California thanks to Hiram Johnson.

[4] IOTL they gained ten. The death of Roosevelt and some Progressives switching their allegiance back to the Republicans reduces their ITTL delegation.

 

[Meshakhad]

…The election of Emil Seidel and Bill Haywood as mayors of Milwaukee and Seattle offered an opportunity for socialists to put their ideals into action. Their mayorships also offer an interesting contrast between the moderate Seidel, who hoped to use his position to promote socialism at the ballot box, and the radical Haywood, who was primarily interested in strengthening socialist power in advance of the revolution[1]…

…Both quickly brought the police under their control. Seidel appointed Joseph Klein as Milwaukee’s police chief, but he kept many of the cops on the payroll. By contrast, Haywood purged the entire Seattle Police Department, and handed the job of police chief over to Britt Smith[2], head of Seattle’s Committee of Public Safety. As had happened in smaller towns under SLP control, police now protected striking workers and routinely arrested strikebreakers for trespassing. The fact that the charges were almost invariably dismissed or dropped was irrelevant, as strikebreaking became effectively impossible in these cities…

…Inevitably, some businessmen chose to leave Seattle and Milwaukee, and local papers accused Haywood and Seidel of making the cities hostile to business. However, the IWW in both cities had the resources to actually buy out factories and mills, often covertly, so they could prevent the previous owners from taking the equipment as well. These would then reopen as worker-run co-ops under the “Sollie Shop” model, derived from the common nickname for IWW members[3]…

…Both mayors, as expected for socialists, were strongly favorable towards immigration. After all, the IWW and SLP drew much of their strength from immigrants. This was particularly significant in Seattle, where the Seattle police intervened to break up an anti-Japanese race riot in 1913. This contributed to stronger ties between nativists and anti-socialists…

…The success of Seidel and Haywood inspired other campaigns. In 1913, Morris Hillquit ran for Mayor of New York, with Leon Bronstein as his campaign chair. The SLP organized a massive campaign that rivaled the energy of the prior presidential campaigns. After incumbent mayor William Jay Gaynor died in September[4], the Democrats chose not to field another candidate, instead endorsing the Republican John P. Mitchell. It did them no good. Hillquit won with 53% of the vote, becoming the 95th mayor of New York City[5]…

- Socialists of America Unite! A History of the Socialist Labor Party by Aaron Sorkin



[1] IOTL, Haywood was opposed to electoralism entirely. ITTL, the SLP’s successes have convinced him and other radicals that winning elections is possible and can be used to prepare for the revolution.

[2] IOTL, Smith was an IWW leader who was involved in the Centralia Massacre of 1919.

[3] IOTL, IWW members are known as Wobblies. However, the origin of this nickname is uncertain, although it probably has something to do with the acronym. ITTL, they are instead known as “Sollies” derived from their anthem “Solidarity Forever”.

[4] OTL.

[5] IOTL, Mitchel won in a landslide (although Hillquit was not a candidate). Hillquit did run for mayor in 1917, earning 100,000 votes.