Among the most stirring works of labor history ever written, this autobiography of Mother Jones (née Mary Harris) chronicles the life of a woman who was considered a saint by many, and by others, "the most dangerous woman in America." A forceful and picturesque figure in the American labor movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Mother Jones was a born crusader. Widowed at the age of 30 when her husband and four young children died during a yellow fever epidemic, Mother Jones spoke out tirelessly and effectively for the rights of workers and unionists. She played a significant role in organizing mining strikes in West Virginia and Colorado, as well as the Pittsburgh steel strike of 1919. She was instrumental in the formation of the United Mine Workers union (UMW) in 1890 and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in 1905. An important addition to feminist literature, the Autobiography of Mother Jones is also "a great piece of working-class literature…probably the most readable book in the whole field of American labor history." — Clarence Darrow.

Autobiography of Mother Jones

Biographies & Memoirs

Jones, Mary Harris

Community & Culture

Dover Publications

Shares the labor organizer's opinions on strikes, foreign competition, the need for child labor laws, and the Mexican Revolution

The Speeches and Writings of Mother Jones (Pittsburgh Series in Social and Labor History)

Business & Money

Economics

Univ of Pittsburgh Pr

Mary Harris "Mother" Jones (1837– 30 November 1930) was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent organized labor representative and community organizer. She helped coordinate major strikes and cofounded the Industrial Workers of the World. I was born in the city of Cork, Ireland, in 1830. My people were poor. For generations they had fought for Ireland's freedom. Many of my folks have died in that struggle. My father, Richard Harris, came to America in 1835, and as soon as he had become an American citizen he sent for his family. His work as a laborer with railway construction crews took him to Toronto, Canada. Here I was brought up but always as the child of an American citizen. Of that citizenship I have ever been proud.

The Autobiography of Mother Jones

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Historical

Independently published

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Books by Jones, Mary Harris