Bill Haywood
William Dudley "Big Bill" Haywood was a prominent figure in the early American labor movement, known for his advocacy of workers' rights and socialism. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, he faced personal hardships from a young age, losing his father and later becoming a full-time miner by age fifteen. Haywood's labor activism began when he joined the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) in Idaho in 1896, quickly ascending to leadership positions within the organization. In 1905, he co-founded the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), which aimed to unite workers across various industries and was associated with radical approaches to labor rights, diverging from the more moderate American Federation of Labor.
Haywood's activism was marked by his involvement in significant labor strikes and his publication of works advocating for socialism, which influenced notable labor leaders. His life took a dramatic turn following the assassination of Idaho's former governor, for which he was tried but ultimately acquitted. In 1917, Haywood was arrested for sedition and sentenced to prison; however, he fled to the Soviet Union after being released on bail. There, he became a spokesman for communism but had limited influence within the government. His posthumously published autobiography reflected on his tumultuous life and the labor movement, aiming to address conflicts with his adversaries. Haywood remains a complex figure in the history of American labor, representing both the struggles for workers' rights and the contentious political landscape of his time.
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Subject Terms
Bill Haywood
Labor Leader
- Born: February 4, 1869
- Birthplace: Salt Lake City, Utah
- Died: May 18, 1928
- Place of death: Moscow, Soviet Union (now in Russia)
Biography
A native of Salt Lake City, Utah, William Dudley “Big Bill” Haywood lost his father when he was three years old. His mother remarried a miner and Haywood began working in mines in Nevada from a very young age. He lost an eye at the age of nine; at the same age, he would alternate time spent working with his stepfather with time at school. By fifteen he had become a full-time miner. As a young man, he met the early labor activist Pat Reynolds, and he further read about the Haymarket Riots of Chicago, where battles between labor forces and police broke out during a labor rally.
In 1896, Haywood began working in Silver City, Idaho, and at that time joined the Western Federation of Miners (WFM). Within several years, he had become the local delegate to the national convention. He soon became a member of the national executive board and then the secretary and treasurer of the organization. Not long after, in 1901, he joined the American Socialist Party. Working as editor of the WFM’s journal, Miners’ Magazine, Haywood published articles advocating socialism, which affected the viewpoints of famous figures such as union leader Eugene V. Debs. The year 1901 also saw the beginning of the Telluride Strike, which would lead to violent clashes between labor and management over the next few years.
In 1905, in partial defiance of the methods of the American Federation of Labor, Haywood founded the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), an organization that would become known popularly as the Wobblies and associated with the growth of American Socialism. That same year, however, a former governor of Idaho, Frank R. Steunenberg, was assassinated; the prime suspect, Harry Orchard, indicated that he had committed this crime and others at the behest of Haywood and other IWW leaders. When the trial was held two years later, Haywood was acquitted.
Within the year, the IWW had split into two groups. One side favored Eugene V. Debs’s belief that all matters should be solved peacefully through political action; Haywood’s side, on the other hand, called for active resistance, including strikes and boycotts (and possibly even violence). In 1911, Haywood collaborated with fellow IWW member Frank Bohn to publish Industrial Socialism, which agitated for the advancement of worker’s rights, no matter what the cost. He also coedited the International Socialist Review with Bohn.
In 1917, he was arrested for sedition with many other members of the IWW. More than ninety of them were convicted, and Haywood was sentenced to twenty years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of ten thousand dollars. While released on bail due to an application for a new trial, he left the country in disguise and made his way to the Soviet Union. He became a spokesman for the communists but was never granted much power in their government. His autobiography was published posthumously and was largely seen as an attempt to settle old scores with former opponents.