Keywords

Virden Illinois Gilded Labor Race Immigration Strikebreaking Politics Law Violence

Abstract

This thesis investigates the relationship between politics, law, race, mobility, and violence in 1890s Illinois to highlight the socio-political causes of a temporary pro-labor shift in Republican policy. It centers on Illinois Governor John R. Tanner’s atypical response to racialized labor violence during the Virden Affair and the broader Coal Wars of 1898-1899. This research builds on socio-economic and cultural studies of the labor movement and Black strikebreaking. It introduces state politics and law, two essential lenses of analysis which the historiography has largely neglected in favor of economics and bottom-up history. In lieu of the typical pro-labor accounts of the Virden Affair as a celebrated victory, this thesis takes a neutral approach centered on political pragmatism and legislative reform responding to racialized labor competition. Political uncertainty caused by Black migration from the Redemption Era South, mass European immigration during a peak in the labor movement, the growing Democratic Party’s fracture over currency reform and labor policy—and a personal clash between gubernatorial candidates—set the stage. When Tanner and the Legislature responded to escalating violence, this uncertainty directed a policy of placation which unintentionally emboldened workers to further violence. I utilize government records and correspondences as well as demographic, economic, and polling data to demonstrate Tanner’s need to appeal to moderate Democrats at the expense of Black voters. This, combined with Black and union perspectives from the 1890s, present the response to the Virden Affair as a significant legal and governmental departure fueled by a political rivalry with Illinois’ previous Democratic governor, John P. Altgeld.

Completion Date

2024

Semester

Fall

Committee Chair

Rutkow, Eric

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

History

Degree Program

History

Format

PDF

Identifier

DP0029053

Language

English

Release Date

12-15-2024

Access Status

Thesis

Accessibility Status

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