Lawrence and the 1912 Bread and Roses Strike

Images of America: Massachusetts

by Robert Forrant, Susan Grabski

Incorporated in 1847 on the banks of the Merrimack River, Lawrence, Massachusetts, was the final and most ambitious of New England’s planned textile-manufacturing cities developed by the Boston-area entrepreneurs who helped launch the American Industrial Revolution. With a dam and canal system to generate power, by 1912 Lawrence led the world in the production of worsted wool cloth. The Pacific Cotton Mills alone had sales of nearly $10 million and had mechanical equipment capable of producing 800 miles of finished textile fabrics every working day. However, industrial growth was accompanied by worsening health, housing, and working conditions for most of the city’s workers. These were the root causes that led to the long, sometimes violent struggle between people of diverse ethnic groups and languages and the city’s mill owners and overseers. The 1912 strike—known today as the Bread and Roses Strike—became a landmark moment in history.

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 21, 2013

Reviews

[Becky Bradway · Rating 4 out of 5]

A part of the Images of America series centered around cities and towns across the US. I found some photos in this that I hadn't seen before, and the book helped me get a sense of the people and the place as I was setting a scene in Lawrence. Wish I could post some of the photos here. It's quite dramatic.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very quick, interesting read about a local town that must have found the strike terrifying for many reasons. Very interesting and fantastic period photos that went along with the story.