Post by hi224 on Feb 17, 2023 14:49:12 GMT
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Frank-little-d-1917.jpg
Little is known about Frank Little’s early life. He was born in 1879, in Indian territory, the son of a Quaker, & reportedly had Cherokee ancestors. His parents homestead suffered during the panic of 1893, & his father died in 1899. Following his, Little travelled with his brother to California, taking a job as a miner, later moving to Arizona. In 1905, while still a miner, He joined the Industrial Workers of The World (IWW), an industrial union founded that same year. The IWW promoted the idea of all workers uniting under One big union, in order to supplant capitalist wage labor for industrial democracy/ syndicalism.
Little soon became involved in organizing Lumberjacks, metal miners, farm workers, & oil field workers in the IWW. He participated in “free speech fights”, or conflicts over the ability of members of the IWW to spread their messages to workers & organize via free speech. His participation in these “fights” resulted in him being arrested numerous times by local authorities. He successfully organized unskilled fruit workers in the San Joaquin Valley.
Violent conflicts between worker’s strikes organized by the IWW, & companies were incredibly common. In 1913, Little traveled to Duluth, Minnesota to support Ore-dock workers from the Great Northern Railway, who were on strike over unsafe working conditions. Little was Kidnapped by thugs working for the Railroad company, & held at gunpoint outside the city, before being rescued by union supporters. In another instance, Little, who was by then a member of the IWW General Elective Board, organized a strike of dock workers against unsafe working conditions in the city of superior, Wisconsin. He was again kidnapped by hired thugs, severally beaten, & subjected to a mock hanging. Little was also a strong opponent of WWI. An anti-capitalist, he condemned the war as a “rich man’s war & a poor man’s fight”, & called American soldiers fighting in Europe “Uncle Sam’s Scabs in uniform”.
In 1917, Little traveled to Butte, Montana, in order to support union organizing in the town. Earlier that year, a fire broke out in a mine shaft in the town, & sealed bullheads prevented the miners from escaping, resulting in 168 of their deaths. Arriving in the town, Little helped organize the miner’s union & strike against the company that owned the mine, Anaconda Mining Company. The company had organized a “home Guard” to intimidate the striking workers, many of whom had been attacked. Local newspapers had also been working to undermine public support for the miners. Little helped organize a picket line at the mines, convinced local women to join the picket line, & encouraged other trades to join the strike.
On august 1st, six masked men broke into the boardinghouse where Frank Little was staying, claiming to be law enforcement. Little was beaten in his room, & abducted in his underwear. He was tied behind a car & dragged over granite blocks on the street, to the point his kneecaps had been scraped off. Little was then hanged from a bridge, with a note reading “first & last warning” pinned to his thigh. He was 38 years old when he was killed. More than 2000 people attended his funeral.
No one was ever arrested for Little’s death. The IWW’s lawyers suspected that Ed Morrissey, butte’s chief of detectives, had been involved in Little’s murder. Morrissey had taken a 20 day leave of absence on the day after the lynching & appeared to have scratches on his face after Little’s death. This is damming, as Little was reported to have attempted to defend himself, & had some of one of his assailants skin underneath his fingernails. Nothing could be definitively proven in trail, however. It is unfortunately likely the truth of who killed Frank Little will never be revealed. Frank Little’s grave marker in Butte, Montana, simply reads “Slain by capitalist interests for organizing & inspiring his fellow men”
archive.iww.org/history/biography/FrankLittle/1/
www.pbs.org/video/the-second-century-frank-little-the-hobo-agitator/
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/21/mysterious-lynching-of-frank-little-equality-activist
timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1917/08/02/102355431.pdf
Little is known about Frank Little’s early life. He was born in 1879, in Indian territory, the son of a Quaker, & reportedly had Cherokee ancestors. His parents homestead suffered during the panic of 1893, & his father died in 1899. Following his, Little travelled with his brother to California, taking a job as a miner, later moving to Arizona. In 1905, while still a miner, He joined the Industrial Workers of The World (IWW), an industrial union founded that same year. The IWW promoted the idea of all workers uniting under One big union, in order to supplant capitalist wage labor for industrial democracy/ syndicalism.
Little soon became involved in organizing Lumberjacks, metal miners, farm workers, & oil field workers in the IWW. He participated in “free speech fights”, or conflicts over the ability of members of the IWW to spread their messages to workers & organize via free speech. His participation in these “fights” resulted in him being arrested numerous times by local authorities. He successfully organized unskilled fruit workers in the San Joaquin Valley.
Violent conflicts between worker’s strikes organized by the IWW, & companies were incredibly common. In 1913, Little traveled to Duluth, Minnesota to support Ore-dock workers from the Great Northern Railway, who were on strike over unsafe working conditions. Little was Kidnapped by thugs working for the Railroad company, & held at gunpoint outside the city, before being rescued by union supporters. In another instance, Little, who was by then a member of the IWW General Elective Board, organized a strike of dock workers against unsafe working conditions in the city of superior, Wisconsin. He was again kidnapped by hired thugs, severally beaten, & subjected to a mock hanging. Little was also a strong opponent of WWI. An anti-capitalist, he condemned the war as a “rich man’s war & a poor man’s fight”, & called American soldiers fighting in Europe “Uncle Sam’s Scabs in uniform”.
In 1917, Little traveled to Butte, Montana, in order to support union organizing in the town. Earlier that year, a fire broke out in a mine shaft in the town, & sealed bullheads prevented the miners from escaping, resulting in 168 of their deaths. Arriving in the town, Little helped organize the miner’s union & strike against the company that owned the mine, Anaconda Mining Company. The company had organized a “home Guard” to intimidate the striking workers, many of whom had been attacked. Local newspapers had also been working to undermine public support for the miners. Little helped organize a picket line at the mines, convinced local women to join the picket line, & encouraged other trades to join the strike.
On august 1st, six masked men broke into the boardinghouse where Frank Little was staying, claiming to be law enforcement. Little was beaten in his room, & abducted in his underwear. He was tied behind a car & dragged over granite blocks on the street, to the point his kneecaps had been scraped off. Little was then hanged from a bridge, with a note reading “first & last warning” pinned to his thigh. He was 38 years old when he was killed. More than 2000 people attended his funeral.
No one was ever arrested for Little’s death. The IWW’s lawyers suspected that Ed Morrissey, butte’s chief of detectives, had been involved in Little’s murder. Morrissey had taken a 20 day leave of absence on the day after the lynching & appeared to have scratches on his face after Little’s death. This is damming, as Little was reported to have attempted to defend himself, & had some of one of his assailants skin underneath his fingernails. Nothing could be definitively proven in trail, however. It is unfortunately likely the truth of who killed Frank Little will never be revealed. Frank Little’s grave marker in Butte, Montana, simply reads “Slain by capitalist interests for organizing & inspiring his fellow men”
archive.iww.org/history/biography/FrankLittle/1/
www.pbs.org/video/the-second-century-frank-little-the-hobo-agitator/
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/21/mysterious-lynching-of-frank-little-equality-activist
timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1917/08/02/102355431.pdf