Research: Seattle 1919 General Strike Projects
The Seattle General Strike was one of the most significant events in the city's history, a dramatic showdown that brought Seattle to a standstill for six days in February 1919 as 60,000 workers represented by 101 unions walked off the job. To get a sense of the subject visit the Seattle General Strike Project website. The project features articles written by former students in this class and other advanced History courses. Below is a list of topics that will make good papers.
TOPICS: These are topic areas that would be worthy of attention
- Unions feed thousands in dining halls
- Streetcar system and other transportation during strike
- University of Washington students role
- Troops and police during the strike
- Streetcar system and other transportation during strike
- Cooperative grocery stores
RESEARCH: How to research and write about one of these topics
In each case we have identified a set of sources that will be useful. These topics will require a two part research strategy.
1) You should read the relevant sections of one of the following secondary sources to become familiar with the context of Seattle and its labor movements in 1919 and the key events of the strike. Both books are available here in searchable pdf and should be downloaded.
Robert Friedheim, The Seattle General Strike Download he Seattle General Strike (here is the Friedheim Index.pdf Download Friedheim Index.pdf)
Dana Frank, Purchasing Power: Consumer Organizing, Gender, and the Seattle Labor Movement, 1919-1929 Download Purchasing Power: Consumer Organizing, Gender, and the Seattle Labor Movement, 1919-1929 (here is the Purchasing Power Index.pdf Download Purchasing Power Index.pdf)
2) You will search for additional information about your particular topic in the books and primary sources below. Links take you to a downloadable pdf. Use Control-F search to search for meetings in which your topic was mentioned (i.e., enter "waitress" and similar terms to locate references to the waitress union.)
PRIMARY SOURCES:
- Minutes of the Seattle Central Labor Council Download Minutes of the Seattle Central Labor Council
- Local newspaper articles about the strike Feb 1-Feb 13, 1919 Links to an external site.
- Seattle Union Record Jan 1-Jan 31 Links to an external site. and Feb 1-Feb 21 Links to an external site.
- Seattle Times Links to an external site. (set date range before entering "search terms" inside quotation marks)
- Seattle Star and newspapers from other states Links to an external site. (searchable for 1918 and 1919)
SECONDARY SOURCES:
- Quintard Taylor, The Forging of a Black Community: Seattle’s Central District from 1870 through the Civil Rights Era Download The Forging of a Black Community: Seattle’s Central District from 1870 through the Civil Rights Era (here is the index.pdf Download index.pdf)
- Katsutoshi Kurokawa, The Labor Movement and Japanese Immigrants in Seattle Download The Labor Movement and Japanese Immigrants in Seattle
- Richard Berner, Seattle 1900-1920 Download Seattle 1900-1920 (here is index) Download index)
- Jonathan Dembo, Unions and Politics in Washington State, 1885-1935 Download Unions and Politics in Washington State, 1885-1935 (here is index Download index)
- Albert Francis Gunns, Civil Liberties in Crisis: The Pacific Northwest, 1917-1940 Download Civil Liberties in Crisis: The Pacific Northwest, 1917-1940
- Victoria Johnson, How many machine guns does it take to cook one meal? : the Seattle and San Francisco general strikes
Links to an external site. (available as an eBook)
- Cal Winslow, Radical Seattle: The General Strike of 1919 Links to an external site. (available for checkout from the UW library)
ADDITIONAL PRIMARY ACCOUNTS BY WITNESSES AND PARTICIPANTS:
- History Committee of General Strike Committee, The Seattle General Strike Download The Seattle General Strike (1919)
- William Short and Washington Federation of Labor, History of Activities of the Seattle Labor Movement and Conspiracy of Employers Download History of Activities of the Seattle Labor Movement and Conspiracy of Employers (1919)
- Ole Hanson, Americanism Versus Bolshevism Download Americanism Versus Bolshevism (1920)