Thesis statement
The account of Lawrence strike is one of the most memorable events in the American history. The strike took place in Lawrence after the passage of the bill that reduced the working hours for the employees by two hours per week (Masterton 41). During this strike, the employees (mostly immigrants stood up to fight for their rights amid oppression from the increasingly capitalistic American society. This massive strike was initiated by the reduction in the working hours from 55hours to 54hours per week. The employers were not happy with this and decided to reduce the pay for their employees in response to the two hours weekly reduction in the working hours. Upon realizing that their pay had been deducted, the employees let the mill and started shouting in protest of the strike. Due to their loud voice, the workers in other mills joined them in solidarity with their fellow workers to form one big strike even seen in the American history (Park 839). Several people have their own account of the Lawrence strike. However, the account of the Lawrence strike that I find most credible and truth worth is the Vorse account as he explains all the parties involved and how they help to handle the problem.
Vorse account of what happened during Lawrence Strike
Vorse has his own unique account of Lawrence strike. In his account, Vorse is disappointed with the status of the children he finds at the temporary buildings in the grand central station. The children have been looking for their home with little success and were thus rendered homeless. Vorse accounts for how they prepared to care for the children together with other waiting groups of people with banners. After several hours of waiting, the train that they suspected to have carried the children didn’t come and they got very disappointed (Vorse 8). According to Vorse, the failure of the children to show up in the train caused lots of tension as everybody was ready to show solidarity with the children. All the members present were very tense as if something bad was going to happen to the children. Vorse developed a negative attitude towards the police as they were feeling uncomfortable with the people waiting for the children. The police started to suspect the workers who were holding red banners and could not permit them to parade easily. In addition, Vorse had a bad attitude for the mill owns for making the children to suffer much. The general attitude of Vorse towards the police is negative based on the manner in which they are confused and intend to treat the people. After long delays, the incitement grew in the crowd this causing discomfort among from the side of the police (Vorse 12). The police was also confused as they were not sure who the people with red banner are and what they stand for. The police were careful not to arrest those people with banners for fear of arresting the students. I find Vorse account credible and trustworthy from the manner in which he organizes his story.
Unlike others, Vorse recollects how the children were involved in the strike and how they made other people to participate in the strike. According to Vorse, different sorts of people had gathered in the place to stand in solidarity with the children. He accounts for different groups such as the liberals, anarchists, socialists, syndicalist, and the plain trade unions (Vorse 9). I find Vorse account credible and trustworthy since he explains how everybody expressed sympathy towards the striking persons. In addition, she provides his explanations in first person pronoun to show that she was a witnessed as the events unfolded. Therefore, she must be giving trusted information based on her real accounts of the strike. Vorse argument towards the strikers is positive since she support the strike and fully supports the workers union.
Similarity to Vorse account with the description in the New York Times
The story of the strike in the New York Times is similar to Vorse account in various ways. First, both accounts demonstrate how the workers stood in solidarity with each other as they were bound with sympathy. The two accounts demonstrate that the children suffered the most as they were being taken care of by the striking workers. Vorse account is also similar to the one in New York Time since they both illustrate how massive and big the children’s exodus during the strike. Both accounts illustrate that the women and children were paid less for working for more hours in the milling factory (New York Times 2). Despite the weekly earnings, the two accounts illustrate that the worker were living pathetic conditions due to poor pay. In the New York Time, the authors’ political stand calls for the removal of the striking workers at the entrance of the mills to provide a pathway to such mills. By allowing the entrance, it would be possible to trace the mill masters and help them craft a policy that would help to end the stalemate. The two accounts also support that the people have massive powers to transform the society to their advantage. The policy was to come up with the trade union to help advance the interest of the workers. I find the account in the New York Times credible and trustworthy as it let to the formation of the part later was the largest conservative party in the United States.
How the political stances of II Ploretario different from that of the middle class newspapers like the Times
The political stance of II Ploretario provides a different account with the one provided at the New York Times. During this period, there were people with much confidence and would not support any objectives (Giovanni & Osca 2). Immediately, such organization solved the problem of the government, but they never went far. Such people are so corrupt, they could shoot at any person as long as their unique needs are met.
Apart from the Vorse account, the II Ploretario account offers a bit different story in relation to the children. Unlike the II Ploretario, the New York Times supported the militia’s job and encouraged the workers to enter the mills in a soft manner. The New York Times provides no account of police disbursing the cloud strikers. According to that paper, the children and their parents were roughly handled by the strikers when they requested them to go to work. There was a positive attitude as the children and the workers were able to gather courage and march through the militia and factor windows. In their attempts to meet the behaviors and orders, the women advanced their positions accordingly in the society.
How the removal of the children from Lawrence become a political act and what it symbolize
The removal of the children from the Lawrence becomes a political act due to much sympathy they managed to attract from the onlookers. The bond created from the Lawrence strike made women to begin investing in the textile mills and to better their social life. The ethnicity and the gender of the workers did not bring meaningful change to the life of the workers. After the strike, more working terms and conditions developed as the employers were not ready for another big loss to their operations. The mill owners were left with no choice but to make the workplaces better and secure for all their workers. Furthermore, Father Reilly never anticipated the idea of children going to social homes as it may stir unnecessary sympathy. By instructing the militia to stop the children, he stirred political feelings and the media altogether. Such event symbolizes the hatred that exists between the poor workers and the capitalist. Therefore, this struggle that began in Lawrence initiated the biggest federal regulation that protects all the workers in the working environment. The children appeared politicized as they were paraded with banners along the streets to help convey a strong political message. This incident tarnished the image of the governing authorities to the benefit of the striking workers. All the leaders agree to take good care of the children and to protect their human rights within the society. The action was also feminine as everybody was taken good care of, regardless of their gender. In addition, the positive situation is also portrayed by the first group that was sent to the train cities in the New York after successfully gaining their benefits.
Work Cited
Giovanni DiGregorio & Oscar Mazzitelli. The Exiles from Lawrence to New York. Il Proletario [The Proletariat] 16 February 1912, p. 2.
Masterton, John. "Newspaper: Carol Lawrence." Brandweek 39.46 (1998): S40-2. ProQuest. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.
New York Times. 150 Strike Waifs Find Homes Here. New York Times 11 February 1912, pp. 1-2.
Park, Mitchell F. "Defining One's Own Concept of Existence and the Meaning of the Universe: The Presumption of Liberty in Lawrence v. Texas." Brigham Young University Law Review 2006.3 (2006): 837-87. ProQuest. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.
Vorse, Heaton. Lawrence Strike. A Footnote to Folly: Reminiscences of Mary Heaton Vorse, Farrar & Rhinehart, 1935
