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"This Day in History
March 12, 1912: Bread and Roses Strike Is Successful
Time Periods: 1910
Themes: Labor
On March 12, 1912, most of the demands of labor unions were met in the 1912 Lawrence textile strike. This was an historic strike that united workers across many traditional barriers including language, nationality, gender, and age.
Labor leader Eugene Debs said:
The victory at Lawrence, one of the most decisive and far-reaching ever
won by organized workers, demonstrated the power and invincibility of
industrial unity backed by political solidarity.
While workers returned to the mills, the campaign continued to secure the acquittal of Joseph James Ettor, Arturo Giovannitti, and Joseph Caruso who had been arrested during the strike. (They were acquitted on Nov. 26, 1912.)
Demonstration at the trial of Ettor and Giovannitti. Women hold aloft newspapers whose headlines talk about the trial, including “Solidarity,” “Il Proletario,” “The Free Press,” and “The National Rip-Saw.” Source: Walter P. Reuther Library.
Read more at the Digital Public Library of America.
Find free classroom lessons and other resources below for teaching about the Bread and Roses strike.
Related Resources
Teaching Activities (Free)
Lawrence, 1912: The Singing Strike
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond.
Role play on the 1912 Bread and Roses strike in Lawrence, Mass.
Books: Non-Fiction
Lawrence and the 1912 Bread and Roses Strike
Book — Non-fiction. By Robert Forrant and Susan Grabski. 2013. 128 pages.
Images, documents, and quotes tell the story of the 1912 landmark strike.
Teaching Guides
The Power in Our Hands: A Curriculum on the History of Work and Workers in the United States
Teaching Guide. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 1988. 184 pages.
Role plays and writing activities project high school students into real-life situations to explore the history and contemporary reality of employment (and unemployment) in the U.S.
Books: Non-Fiction
Kids on Strike!
Book — Non-fiction. By Susan Campbell Bartoletti. 2003. 208 pages.
Describes the conditions and treatment that drove working children to strike, from the mill workers’ strike in 1834 and the coal strikes at the turn of the century to the children who marched with Mother Jones in 1903.
Teaching Activities (Free)
Labor Songs
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 7 pages.
Students explore the power of songs to build solidarity and increase understanding. This is the final activity from Bigelow and Diamond’s labor history book, The Power in Our Hands, and draws on the other lessons.
Teaching Activities (Free)
Birth of a Rank-and-File Organizer
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 7 pages.
Writing activity for students to complete the narrative of women workers striking at a glove-making factory, exploring possible outcomes.
Songs and Poems
Bread and Roses
Song. Reprinted from Labor Notes 2007.
Links issues of economic security and quality of life, also addresses the role of women in the struggle for justice.
This Day in History
Jan. 11, 1912: The Bread and Roses Strike Started
The Bread and Roses Strike began in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
This Day in History
Nov. 26, 1912: Lawrence Textile Strike Acquittal
Joseph James Ettor, Arturo Giovannitti, and Joseph Caruso were acquitted after one of the most important labor trials."
"This Day in History
March 12, 1912: Bread and Roses Strike Is Successful
Time Periods: 1910
Themes: Labor
On March 12, 1912, most of the demands of labor unions were met in the 1912 Lawrence textile strike. This was an historic strike that united workers across many traditional barriers including language, nationality, gender, and age.
Labor leader Eugene Debs said:
The victory at Lawrence, one of the most decisive and far-reaching ever
won by organized workers, demonstrated the power and invincibility of
industrial unity backed by political solidarity.
While workers returned to the mills, the campaign continued to secure the acquittal of Joseph James Ettor, Arturo Giovannitti, and Joseph Caruso who had been arrested during the strike. (They were acquitted on Nov. 26, 1912.)
Demonstration at the trial of Ettor and Giovannitti. Women hold aloft newspapers whose headlines talk about the trial, including “Solidarity,” “Il Proletario,” “The Free Press,” and “The National Rip-Saw.” Source: Walter P. Reuther Library.
Read more at the Digital Public Library of America.
Find free classroom lessons and other resources below for teaching about the Bread and Roses strike.
Related Resources
Teaching Activities (Free)
Lawrence, 1912: The Singing Strike
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond.
Role play on the 1912 Bread and Roses strike in Lawrence, Mass.
Books: Non-Fiction
Lawrence and the 1912 Bread and Roses Strike
Book — Non-fiction. By Robert Forrant and Susan Grabski. 2013. 128 pages.
Images, documents, and quotes tell the story of the 1912 landmark strike.
Teaching Guides
The Power in Our Hands: A Curriculum on the History of Work and Workers in the United States
Teaching Guide. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 1988. 184 pages.
Role plays and writing activities project high school students into real-life situations to explore the history and contemporary reality of employment (and unemployment) in the U.S.
Books: Non-Fiction
Kids on Strike!
Book — Non-fiction. By Susan Campbell Bartoletti. 2003. 208 pages.
Describes the conditions and treatment that drove working children to strike, from the mill workers’ strike in 1834 and the coal strikes at the turn of the century to the children who marched with Mother Jones in 1903.
Teaching Activities (Free)
Labor Songs
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 7 pages.
Students explore the power of songs to build solidarity and increase understanding. This is the final activity from Bigelow and Diamond’s labor history book, The Power in Our Hands, and draws on the other lessons.
Teaching Activities (Free)
Birth of a Rank-and-File Organizer
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 7 pages.
Writing activity for students to complete the narrative of women workers striking at a glove-making factory, exploring possible outcomes.
Songs and Poems
Bread and Roses
Song. Reprinted from Labor Notes 2007.
Links issues of economic security and quality of life, also addresses the role of women in the struggle for justice.
This Day in History
Jan. 11, 1912: The Bread and Roses Strike Started
The Bread and Roses Strike began in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
This Day in History
Nov. 26, 1912: Lawrence Textile Strike Acquittal
Joseph James Ettor, Arturo Giovannitti, and Joseph Caruso were acquitted after one of the most important labor trials."
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