Ralph Hosea Chaplin (1887–1961) was an American writer, artist and

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

. At the age of seven, he saw a worker shot dead during the

Pullman Strike The Pullman Strike was two interrelated strikes in 1894 that shaped national labor policy in the United States during a period of deep economic depression. First came a strike by the American Railway Union (ARU) against the Pullman factory in Chi ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He had moved with his family from Ames, Kansas to Chicago in 1893. During a time in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

he was influenced by hearing of the execution squads established by

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...

, and became a supporter of

Emiliano Zapata Emiliano Zapata Salazar (; August 8, 1879 – April 10, 1919) was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, the main leader of the people's revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos, and the ins ...

. On his return, he began work in various

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

positions, most of which were poorly paid. Some of Chaplin's early artwork was done for the '' International Socialist Review'' and other Charles H. Kerr publications. For two years Chaplin worked in the strike committee with

Mother Jones Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...

for the bloody

Kanawha County, West Virginia Kanawha County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 180,745, making it West Virginia's most populous county. The county seat is Charleston, which is also the state capital. Kanawha Coun ...

strike of

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

miners in 1912–13. These influences led him to write a number of labor oriented poems, one of which became the words for the oft-sung union anthem, "

Solidarity Forever "Solidarity Forever", written by Ralph Chaplin in 1915, is a popular trade union anthem. It is sung to the tune of " John Brown's Body" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic". Although it was written as a song for the Industrial Workers of the W ...

Chaplin then became active in the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines genera ...

(the IWW, or "Wobblies") and became editor of its eastern U.S. publication ''

Solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...

''. In 1917 Chaplin and some 100 other Wobblies were rounded up, convicted, and jailed under the

Espionage Act of 1917 The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law enacted on June 15, 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code (War ...

for conspiring to hinder the

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

and encourage

desertion Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ar ...

. He wrote ''Bars And Shadows: The Prison Poems'' while serving four years of a 20-year sentence. Although he continued to work for labor rights after his release from prison, Chaplin was very disillusioned by the aftermath of the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

and the evolution of the Soviet state and international communism, particularly its involvement in American politics and unions in 1920–1948, as he details in his autobiography, ''Wobbly''. Chaplin maintained his involvement with the IWW, serving in Chicago as editor of its newspaper, the ''

Industrial Worker The ''Industrial Worker'', "the voice of revolutionary industrial unionism", is the magazine of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). It is currently released quarterly. The publication is printed and edited by union labor, and is frequently ...

'', from 1932 to 1936. Eventually Chaplin settled in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

, where he edited the local labor publication. From 1949 until his death he was curator of manuscripts for the

Washington State Historical Society The Washington State Historical Society is the historical society of the U.S. state of Washington. Based in Tacoma, it is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is a trustee agency of the state. It was founded in 1891. The board of trustees of the society incl ...

. According to the IWW, he likely designed the now widely used anarcho-syndicalist image, the black cat. As its stance indicates, the cat is meant to suggest

wildcat strikes A wildcat strike action, often referred to as a wildcat strike, is a strike action undertaken by unionised workers without union leadership's authorisation, support, or approval; this is sometimes termed an unofficial industrial action. The legalit ...

and radical unionism.

References

*Ralph Chaplin, ''Wobbly: The Rough-and-Tumble Story of an American Radical'' (The University of Chicago Press, 1948). *Ralph Chaplin, "Confessions of a Radical," two-part article in ''Empire Magazine'' of the ''Denver Post'', Feb. 17, 1957, pp. 12–13, and Feb. 24, 1957, pp. 10–11. *Ralph Chaplin,
Why I Wrote Solidarity Forever
" ''American West'', vol. 5, no. 1 (January 1968), 18–27, 73.

External links

* * * * * *
CHAPLIN, Ralph Hosea (1887-1961), papers, 6 l.f.
Special Collections, Washington State Historical Society
Grave of Ralph Chaplin Calvary Cemetery, Tacoma, Washington
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaplin, Ralph 1887 births 1961 deaths American trade union leaders American newspaper editors American male poets Industrial Workers of the World leaders Industrial Workers of the World members People convicted under the Espionage Act of 1917 Songwriters from Kansas American male non-fiction writers

See also

References

External links