Nicolaas Steelink
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Nicolaas Steelink (October 5, 1890 - April 21, 1989) was a Dutch American labor activist who was a member of 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 general ...
(IWW), an international
industrial union Industrial unionism is a trade union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in ...
, and an important figure in the creation of the California Soccer League, which resulted in his induction into the United States Soccer Hall of Fame. During his time as a member of the IWW, due to his involvement with the union and radical ideals, he was convicted of
criminal syndicalism Criminal syndicalism has been defined as a doctrine of criminal acts for political, industrial, and social change. These criminal acts include advocation of crime, sabotage, violence, and other unlawful methods of terrorism. Criminal syndicalism la ...
and sentenced to prison in 1920.


Early life

Steelink was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the son of a grocer. Throughout most of his childhood, Steelink enjoyed spending his days playing soccer. In 1908, at the age of 18 he started working at the Dutch Steamship Company, a company formed in 1885 that ran as a steamship service from Amsterdam to London, and also played soccer as a member of the works team. At the age of 22, he immigrated from the Netherlands to the United States. Once he arrived in the United States, he settled down in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...
.


Activism and arrest

After living in Seattle for two years, Steelink decided to move to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
in 1914. While in Los Angeles, he began to be exposed to certain political aspects due to the men whom he played soccer with. Through the relationships he garnered from playing, he learned about the different types of political activist that existed in California in the early part of the 20th century. This exposure to the different types of political activism began to mold Steelink into a radical. After learning of the different radical movements that existed, and through many aspects of the United States government which he did not agree with, such as
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
, poor
working conditions {{Short description, 1=Overview of and topical guide to working time and conditions This is a list of topics on working time and conditions. Legislation * See :Employment law Working time * See :Working time * Flextime Working conditions * Bios ...
, war propaganda, and lynchings, Steelink decided to become a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and served as a typist for the union. As a member of the IWW, he wrote a weekly column for 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 ...
'', a paper belonging to the IWW, under the pseudonym of Ennaes Ellae. At the end of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, many states passed laws in order to contain the growing radicalism among workers, which led to California passing the Criminal Syndicalism Act in 1919, in an effort to make sure that trade unions did not take over manufacturing plants. Once the law was passed, Steelink, due to his major involvement with the IWW, and 151 other members of the Industrial Workers of the World, were tried on charges of criminal syndicalism, convicted and sentenced to prison. Steelink was sentenced to five years hard labor in
San Quentin Prison San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the ...
in California. After serving two years of his jail sentence, Steelink was granted his parole in 1922, but his experience in jail further strengthened his beliefs in making sure that workers were treated fairly. After his release, Steelink felt that society was not accepting of him for being a convicted criminal. He even discussed this with
Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...
, and did not agree with the fact that even though some of the IWW members were being pardoned for their crimes, the government in California did not see their errors in arresting the members of the IWW. From his experiences in prison, Steelink wrote a number of memoirs discussing the different experiences that he went through during his time in San Quentin.


Later life

After his release from prison, Steelink continued to be involved with the IWW, constantly writing articles for the IWW entitled "Musings of a Wobbly", and still trying to fight against work place injustice. As he got older, Steelink began to become less involved with the IWW, but began to contribute more to soccer. He began to dedicate more time to soccer, coaching many youth players and became a very important figure in the creation of the California Soccer League in 1958. Through this involvement he was inducted to the United States Soccer Hall of Fame in 1971. In 1965, Steelink retired from his job in accounting, and moved to Tucson, Arizona. Steelink lived in Tucson until his death in 1989 at the age of 98.


References


Sources

* * * *'Reis in Droomland'. Boek geschreven door Nicolaas (Nico) Steelink zelf. Uitgever: Baalprodukties, Sittard. Oktober 1998. ISBN 90-75825-11-0


External links


Archival collections


Guide to the Fanny Bixby Spencer and Nicolaas Steelink Correspondence.
Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. {{DEFAULTSORT:Steelink, Nicolaas 1890 births 1989 deaths Trade unionists from California Dutch emigrants to the United States Industrial Workers of the World members National Soccer Hall of Fame members Soccer players from California Men's association football players not categorized by position Association football players not categorized by nationality