Everett massacre
Encyclopedia
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
(IWW) union, commonly called "Wobblies". It took place in Everett, Washington
Everett, Washington
Everett is the county seat of and the largest city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. Named for Everett Colby, son of founder Charles L. Colby, it lies north of Seattle. The city had a total population of 103,019 at the 2010 census, making it the 6th largest in the state and...
on Sunday, November 5, 1916. The tragic event marked a time of rising tensions in Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
labor history.
Background
In 1916, Everett, Washington was facing a bad depression. There was ongoing confrontation between business, commercial interests, labor, and labor organizers. There had been a number of labor organized rallies and speeches in the street. These were opposed by local law enforcement, which was firmly on the side of business. IWW organizers had gone into Everett to support a five-month long strike by shingle workers. Once there, vigilantes organized by business had beaten them up with axe handles and run them out of town. The Seattle IWW decided to go to Everett in numbers to hold a rally to show their support for the striking shingle workers.Confrontation at the Dock
On November 5, 1916, about 300 members of the IWW met at the IWW hall in Seattle and then marched down to the docks where they boarded the steamers VeronaVerona (steamship)
The steamship Verona was a small steamboat of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet.-Career:Verona was built in 1910 at the Martinolich shipyard at Dockton, Washington. The vessel is best known for an event which occurred on November 5, 1916. The vessel was transporting members of the Industrial Workers...
and Calista
Calista (steamboat)
The steamship Calista was a small steamboat of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet.-Career:Calista was built in 1911 at the Martinolich shipyard at Dockton, Washington.The vessel is best known for an event which occurred on November 5, 1916...
which then headed north to Everett. Verona arrived at Everett before Callista and as they approached the dock in the early afternoon, the Wobblies sang their fight song "Hold the Fort". Local business interests, knowing the Wobblies were coming, placed armed vigilantes on the dock and on at least one tugboat in the harbor, Edison, owned by the American Tug Boat Company. As with previous labor demonstrations, the local business had also secured the aid of law enforcement, including the Snohomish County
Snohomish County, Washington
Snohomish County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. It is named after the Snohomish tribe. Since 2000, the county's population has grown from 606,024 to 713,335 residents , making it one of the fastest-growing in the state, ranking third in overall population after King and...
sheriff Donald McRae, who had targeted Wobblies for arbitrary arrests and beatings.
Shootout
As a result, over 200 vigilantes or "citizen deputies", under the ostensible authority of Snohomish County Sheriff McRae, met in order to repel the "anarchistsAnarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
." As the Verona drew into the dock, and someone on board threw a line over a bollard, McRae stepped forward and called out "Boys, who's your leader?" The IWW men laughed and jeered, replying "We're all leaders," and they started to swing out the gang plank. McRae drew his pistol, told them he was the sheriff, he was enforcing the law, and they couldn't land here. There was a silence, then a Wobbly came up to the front and yelled out "the hell we can't."
Just then a single shot rang out, followed by about ten minutes of intense gunfire. Most of it came from the vigilantes on the dock, but some fire came from the Verona, although the majority of the passengers were unarmed. Whether the first shot came from boat or dock was never determined. Passengers aboard the Verona rushed to the opposite side of the ship, nearly capsizing the vessel. The ship's rail broke as a result and a number of passengers were ejected into the water, some drowned as a result but how many is not known, or whether persons who'd been shot also went overboard. Over 175 bullets pierced the pilot house alone, and the captain of the Verona, Chance Wiman, was only able to avoid being shot by ducking behind the ship's safe.
Once the ship righted herself somewhat after the near-capsize, some slack came on the bowline, and Engineer Shellgren put the engines hard astern, parting the line, and enabling the steamer to escape. Out in the harbor, Captain Wiman warned off the approaching Calista and then raced back to Seattle.
Death toll
At the end of the mayhem, 2 citizen deputies lay dead with 16 or 20 others wounded, including Sheriff G McRae. The two businessman-deputies that were shot were actually shot in the back by fellow deputies; their injuries were not caused by Wobbly gunfire.The IWW officially listed 5 dead with 27 wounded, although it is speculated that as many as 12 IWW members may have been killed. There was a good likelihood that at least some of the casualties on the dock were caused not by IWW firing from the steamer, but on vigilante rounds from the cross-fire of bullets coming from the Edison. The local Everett Wobblies started their street rally anyway, and as a result, McRae's deputized citizens rounded them up and hauled them off to jail. As a result of the shootings, the governor of the State of Washington sent companies of militia to Everett and Seattle to help maintain order.
Question of violence
There have been many efforts to find the IWW, a self-described radical union, at fault for the violence. However,Aftermath
Upon returning to Seattle, 75 Wobblies were arrested as a direct result of the "Everett Massacre" including IWW leader Thomas H. Tracy. They were taken to the Snohomish County jail in Everett and charged with murder of the 2 deputies. After a two-month trial, Tracy was acquitted by a jury on May 5, 1917. Shortly thereafter, all charges were dropped against the remaining 73 defendants and they were released from jail.Archives
- The Everett Prisoners' Defense Committee Records, 1916 4 items. At the Labor Archives of Washington State, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
- The Industrial Workers of the World, Seattle Joint Branches Records, 1905-1950 3.31 cubic foot (0.09372876357 m³). At the Labor Archives of Washington State, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
- The John Leonard Miller Papers, 1923-1986 3.75 cubic foot (0.10618817625 m³) plus 2 sound cassettes. At the Labor Archives of Washington State, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.
- The John Leonard Miller Photograph Collection, circa 1920-1975. 17 photographic prints (1 box) ; various sizes. At the Labor Archives of Washington State, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.