This photograph shows labor leader John Mitchell giving a speech at Philadelphia’s Washington Park in September 1902.
He spoke to a crowd of 50,000 on Labor Day about the important battle for organized labor occurring 100 miles to the northwest in Pennsylvania’s Coal Region – the Coal Strike of 1902.
Here are some of Mitchell’s words that day:
“This is a contest for Americanism, for higher citizenship, for nobler manhood, for better homes.”
“We are striving against the greatest wrong ever known among our workingmen, and, with the assistance of the public, we can win.”
“I have an abiding faith in my countrymen. I have an implicit confidence in the American people.”
“To win this strike will require the assistance of our fellow-workers and all generous citizens of our country.”
Read more about John Mitchell and the UMWA
A different kind of labor leader | A profile of John Mitchell during the 1902 Coal Strike
“These boys are in constant danger” – A description of the child laborers of the Coal Region | 1902
End of the 1902 Coal Strike | October 23, 1902
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