Bread and Roses : Mills, Migrants, and the Struggle for the American Dream

Told here for the first time, the riveting story of the most remarkable strike in American history On January 12, 1912, an army of textile workers stormed out of the mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts, commencing what has since become known as the Bread and Roses” strike. Based on newspaper accounts, magazine reportage, and oral histories, Watson reconstructs a Dickensian drama involving thousands of parading strikers from fifty-one nations, unforgettable acts of cruelty, and even a protracted murder trial that tested the boundaries of free speech. A rousing look at a seminal and overlooked chapter of the past, Bread and Rosesis indispensable reading.

Bruce Watson is an award-winning journalist whose articles have been published in Smithsonian, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, and other publications.