Writing Labor's Emancipation
The Anarchist Life and Times of Jay Fox
Published on 14. June 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
276 pages
978-0-295-75058-3 (ISBN)
Description
Jay Fox (1870-1961) was a journalist, intellectual, and labor militant whose influence rippled across the country. In Writing Labor's Emancipation, historian Greg Hall traces Fox's unorthodox life to highlight the shifting dynamics in US labor radicalism from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century.
Radicalized as a teenager after witnessing the Haymarket tragedy, Fox embarked on a lifetime of union organizing, building anarchist communities (including Home, Washington), and writing. Thanks to his sharp wit, he became an influential voice, often in dialogue with fellow anarchists such as Emma Goldman and Lucy Parsons.
Hall both explores Fox's life and shines a light on the utopians, revolutionaries, and union men and women with whom Fox associated and debated. Hall's research provides valuable knowledge of the lived experiences of working-class Americans and reveals alternative visions for activism and social change.
Radicalized as a teenager after witnessing the Haymarket tragedy, Fox embarked on a lifetime of union organizing, building anarchist communities (including Home, Washington), and writing. Thanks to his sharp wit, he became an influential voice, often in dialogue with fellow anarchists such as Emma Goldman and Lucy Parsons.
Hall both explores Fox's life and shines a light on the utopians, revolutionaries, and union men and women with whom Fox associated and debated. Hall's research provides valuable knowledge of the lived experiences of working-class Americans and reveals alternative visions for activism and social change.
Reviews / Votes
"Three major contributions of Hall's study stand out. First, it challenges the trope of the violent anarchist, and explains anarcho-syndicalism and anarchist communism, appealing to Fox and others who valued the power of organized workers. Second, it highlights activists' logistical work to keep organizations and publications afloat. Volunteer labor, problem-solving, failure, and redirection are part of such struggle. Third, the book underscores the power of writing as a vehicle for making sense of the world, for oneself and others. Fox demonstrated that in his correspondence and articles, and Hall does so in his approach. His research is impressive, and he excels in framing a quote to integrate it into an argument."(Pacific Historical Review) "One of the strengths of Hall's study is showing how challenging it could be to marry anarchist principles to a commitment to organized labor in a greedy, industrializing society. Writing Labor's Emancipation also contributes to our understanding of anarchist print culture, a vital component of a decentralized movement without political parties or electoral campaigns. Greg Hall has crafted a readable and impartial portrait of a deeply committed activist, enraged by the immiseration of labor, enthusiastic about labor's will to fight back, and committed to spreading ideas through independent media outlets."
(American Historical Review) "Valuable as both a biography of an overlooked and influential radical as well as a larger examination of American radicalism, Writing Labor's Emancipation is an engaging read. Hall's ability to succinctly describe the various movements, organizations, and individuals that made up Fox's radical life and times is particularly impressive. While this book will certainly prove to be of interest to historians of the labor movement and radical politics, it should not be ignored by a more general audience and is recommended for anyone interested in an introduction to American radicalism in this period."
(Oregon Historical Quarterly)
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Seattle
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
10 b&w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 226 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
386 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-295-75058-3 (9780295750583)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Greg Hall is professor of history at Western Illinois University. He is author of Harvest Wobblies: The Industrial Workers of the World and Agricultural Laborers in the American West, 1905-1930.