William H. Sylvis (1828–1869) was a pioneer American

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

leader. Sylvis is best remembered as a founder of the Iron Molders' International Union. He also was a founder of the

National Labor Union The National Labor Union (NLU) is the first national labor federation in the United States. Founded in 1866 and dissolved in 1873, it paved the way for other organizations, such as the Knights of Labor and the AFL (American Federation of Labor). ...

. It was one of the first American union federations attempting to unite workers of various crafts into a single national organization.

Biography

Early years

William H. Sylvis was born in 1828 in the borough of

Armagh, Pennsylvania Armagh is a borough in Indiana County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The population was 103 at the 2020 census. History Armagh is the oldest community in Indiana County, having been founded in 1792 by eight families led by James and Margaret ...

,he did the second son of Nicholas and Maria Mott Sylvis, native-born Americans of Irish extraction who each traced their American ancestry back to the pre-revolutionary period.David Montgomery, "William H. Sylvis and the Search for Working-Class Citizenship," in Melvyn Dubofsky and Warren Van Tine (eds.), ''Labor Leaders in America.'' Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1987; pg. 3. Nicholas' father was a maker of canal boats and repairman of

wagons A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

who found great difficulty earning enough money to support his family.Montgomery, "William H. Sylvis and the Search for Working-Class Citizenship," pg. 4. During the

Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major depression, which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment went up, and pessimism abound ...

the family's financial situation became particularly grave and young William was sent to live on the homestead of a prosperous neighbor named Pawling,Morris Hillquit, ''History of Socialism in the United States.'' Revised and enlarged 5th Edition. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1910; pg. 166. earning his keep there by helping with chores around the farm. The change of family setting proved beneficial for Sylvis from an educational standpoint, who was taught to read and write by his new employer. Sylvis attended school for the first time at age of 11. He proved to be a voracious reader and took full advantage of the library at the farm estate, owned as it was by a man who had been elected to the

Pennsylvania State Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania P ...

Iron molder

In 1846 the 18-year-old Sylvis left the farmstead to learn the trade of

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

molding — fabricating products by pouring molten metal into wooden patterns.Montgomery, "William H. Sylvis and the Search for Working-Class Citizenship," pg. 5. In 1851 the 23-year-old Sylvis married 15-year-old Amelia A. Thomas. The union ultimately produced three sons, who were named after contemporary heroes —

Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...

Sylvis, Oliver Perry Sylvis, and

Lewis Clark Lewis Mitchell "Mickey" Clark (November 26, 1923 – September 17, 2003) was a provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1979 to 1986 sitting with the Progressive Conservative ...

Sylvis. Following his wife's death in 1865, Sylvis remarried; he ultimately fathered a total of five children.Donald G. Sofchalk, "William H. Sylvis," in Gary M. Fink (ed.), ''Biographical Dictionary of American Labor.'' Second edition. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1984; pg. 541. Sylvis found his way to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

where he became active in the local

movement, serving as secretary of the Philadelphia molders' union.Philip S. Foner, ''History of the Labor Movement in the United States: Volume 1, From Colonial Times to the Founding of the American Federation of Labor.'' New York: International Publishers, 1947; pp. 236-237. A spontaneous October 1857 strike over a proposed wage cut in the shop at which he was working was the precipitating event in Sylvis' entry into the labor movement.Tim Davenport
"Organizational History of the 'International Working Men's Association,'"
Early American Marxism website, www.marxisthistory.org/ The shop's workers met and chose William Sylvis as their Secretary, from which sprung the organization which later became Iron-Moulders Union no. 1. In this capacity Sylvis communicated with other local iron molders' unions with a view to establishing a national organization that could obtain higher wages for molders nationwide. Upon receiving positive feedback, Sylvis circulated a formal convention call to establish such a national organization, with the founding gathering held in Philadelphia on July 5, 1859.Foner, ''History of the Labor Movement in the United States: Volume 1,'' pg. 237. A provisional federation of local molders unions followed, culminating in 1860 with the establishment of the National Union of Iron Molders. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Sylvis aided the Union forces, despite having supported

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...

in the Presidential election of 1860. Early in the conflict Sylvis recruited a regiment on behalf of the Union Army, although he himself declined the offer of a commission as a

1st Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

due to his wife's vehement objection.Foner, ''History of the Labor Movement in the United States: Volume 1,'' pg. 309. Several months later he established a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

company composed of Philadelphia iron molders, serving as a

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

with the group for several months. In 1863 Sylvis was elected President of the flagging National Union of Iron Molders,"William H. Sylvis Historical Marker,"
Explore PA History, explorepahistory.com/ a group which had virtually gone extinct during the wartime years. He subsequently traveled over 10,000 miles on behalf of the union, giving public speeches and organizing union locals. Sylvis persuaded the locals that he visited to bring their often disparate by-laws into conformity with a single national constitution, helping to unite the loose federation of local groups into a more centralized organization, which had changed its name to the Iron Molders' International Union at its 1863 conclave.Foner, ''History of the Labor Movement in the United States: Volume 1,'' pg. 346. During the course of his 1863 travels, Sylvis single-handedly formed 19 new molders' locals, reorganized 16 others which had fallen by the wayside after the outbreak of the war in 1861, and helped to solidify 12 more locals.Foner, ''History of the Labor Movement in the United States: Volume 1,'' pg. 348. In recognition of his service Sylvis was re-elected head of the union in 1864. Under Sylvis the Molders' Union reworked its financial system, selling union cards and charters and collecting national dues — actions which managed to place the struggling union on a firm financial basis for the first time. Sylvis also created the union's first national strike fund, generated by a compulsory tax upon the membership.

Organizing the National Labor Union

In February 1866 Sylvis set his sights on the establishment of an organization that was broader still — a

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

of unions which would be able to bring workers of different crafts together under a single organizational umbrella. Sylvis joined William Harding, president of the Coach Makers' International Union and Jonathan Fincher, head of the Machinists and Blacksmiths Union at a Philadelphia meeting to discuss the organization of such a national labor federation.Foner, ''History of the Labor Movement in the United States: Volume 1,'' pg. 371. The trio resolved to hold another planning session in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, to which would be invited other prominent trade union leaders. This March 26, 1866 session was attended by a group of 11 delegates, who set in motion preparations for an August convention to be held in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

under the auspices of the Baltimore Trades Assembly. The end result of this preparatory period was the establishment of a new national federation, the

(NLU). The founding convention of the NLU opened on August 20, 1866. It was attended by 60 delegates, representing 43 local trade unions, 11 trade assemblies, 4 Eight-hour Leagues, and two national or international unions. Ironically, William Sylvis, arguably the founding father of the organization, was unable to attend the gathering due to illness.Foner, ''History of the Labor Movement in the United States: Volume 1,'' pg. 375. While Sylvis carefully followed the work of the five-day convention, he was critical of its work, declaring that it had built a "splendid track, placed upon it a locomotive complete in all its parts; provided an engineer and numerous assistants, placed them upon the footboard, told them to go ahead and then suddenly adjourned without providing wood or water to get up steam..."James C. Sylvis (ed.), ''The Life, Speeches, Labors and Essays of William H. Sylvis: Late President of the Iron-Moulders' International Union; and also of the National Labor Union.'' Philadelphia: Claxton, Remsen and Haffelfinger, 1872; pg. 7. Quoted in Foner, ''History of the Labor Movement in the United States: Volume 1,'' pg. 375. During this interval Sylvis did not work as a trade union functionary, instead entering the world of journalism as co-editor of the Chicago broadsheet ''Workingman's Advocate,'' regarded as the most influential labor newspaper of the day.Montgomery, "William H. Sylvis and the Search for Working-Class Citizenship," pg. 13. Thinking broadly about prospects for the labor movement as a vehicle to drive political policy, Sylvis came to see the NLU as a potential vehicle for social and economic reform, including the establishment of producer cooperatives, the

8-hour work day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses. An eight-hour work day has its origins in the 1 ...

, and currency reform. Sylvis was elected president of the NLU at its third convention, held in New York City in August 1868. He also authored the organization's platform adopted at that gathering. By this juncture Sylvis had become an advocate of international organization of the working class through the vehicle of the International Workingmen's Association, the so-called "First International." He also declared that neither of the old political parties truly represented the interests of the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

and sought to transform the NLU into a workingmen's political party. Death at an early age intervened, however, and Sylvis's vision of a broad and powerful National Labor Union and its associated National Reform Party ultimately came to naught.

Death and legacy

William Sylvis died in 1869. He was just 41 years old at the time of his death. In 1990 the state of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

honored Sylvis with the dedication of a historical marker at

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a public research university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. As of fall 2021, the university enrolled 7,044 undergraduates and 1,865 postgraduates, for a total enrollment of 9,009 students. The univ ...

Indiana, Pennsylvania Indiana is a borough in and the county seat of Indiana County in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The population was 13,564 at the 2020 census, and since 2013 has been part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. After being a long time par ...

Footnotes

Works

''The Life, Speeches, Labors and Essays of William H. Sylvis: Late President of the Iron-Moulders' International Union; and also of the National Labor Union.''
James C. Sylvis, ed. Philadelphia: Claxton, Remsen and Haffelfinger, 1872.