Joseph Labadie
Encyclopedia
Charles Joseph Antoine Labadie (April 18, 1850 – October 7, 1933) was an American labor organizer, anarchist
, social activist, printer, publisher, essayist, and poet.
, to Anthony and Euphrosyne Labadie, both descendants of seventeenth century French immigrants of the Labadie family who had settled on both sides of the Detroit River. His boyhood was a frontier existence among Pottawatomi tribes in southern Michigan, where his father served as interpreter between Jesuit missionaries and Indians. His only formal schooling was a few months in a parochial school.
“Jo,” as he was always called, began five years of "tramp" printing and then settled in Detroit as a printer for the Detroit Post and Tribune. He married his first cousin, Sophie Elizabeth Archambeau, in 1877. Their children were Laura, Charlotte, and Laurance
, also a prominent anarchist essayist.
Labadie joined the newly formed Socialist Labor Party
in Detroit
at the age of 27 and soon was distributing socialist
tracts on street corners. As a printer, he was also a member of Detroit's Typographical Union 18 and was one of its two delegates to the International Typographical Union convention in Detroit in 1878.
In 1878 Labadie organized Detroit's first assembly of the Knights of Labor
, and ran unsuccessfully for mayor on the Greenback-Labor ticket. In 1880, he served as first president of the Detroit Trades Council, and continued issuing a succession of labor papers and columns for the national labor press, including the Detroit Times
, Advance and Labor Leaf, Labor Review, The Socialist, and Lansing Sentinel, which were admired for their forthright style. His column "Cranky Notions" was widely published.
In 1883 Labadie embraced individualist anarchism, a non-violent doctrine. He became closely allied with Benjamin Tucker
, the country's foremost exponent of that doctrine, and frequently wrote for the latter's publication, "Liberty." Without the oppression of the state, Labadie believed, humans would choose to harmonize with "the great natural laws...without robbing [their] fellows through interest, profit, rent and taxes." However, he supported community cooperation, as he supported community control of water utilities, streets, and railroads (Martin). Although he did not support the militant anarchism of the Haymarket anarchists, he fought for the clemency of the accused because he did not believe they were the perpetators. He broke with the Knights of Labor because its leader, Terence Powderly
, repudiated them.
In 1888, Labadie organized the Michigan Federation of Labor, became its first president, and forged an alliance with Samuel Gompers
. At age fifty he began writing verse and publishing artistic hand-crafted booklets. In 1908, the city postal inspector banned his mail because it bore stickers with anarchist quotations. A month later the Detroit water board, where he was working as a clerk, dismissed him for expressing anarchist sentiments. In both cases, the officials were forced to back down in the face of massive public protest for the person well-known in Detroit as its "Gentle Anarchist".
Beginning in the early 1900s, Labadie’s extensive collection of labor literature was sought by several universities for the growing field of labor scholarship. Labadie chose the University of Michigan
, where it formed the nucleus of the renowned Labadie Collection
, considered the most comprehensive repository of radical literature in the United States.
Joseph Labadie died on October 7, 1933, in Detroit, Michigan, at the age of 83.
Anarchism
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...
, social activist, printer, publisher, essayist, and poet.
Biography
Labadie was born on April 18, 1850, in Paw Paw, MichiganPaw Paw, Michigan
Paw Paw is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 3,363. It is the county seat of Van Buren County.-Overview:...
, to Anthony and Euphrosyne Labadie, both descendants of seventeenth century French immigrants of the Labadie family who had settled on both sides of the Detroit River. His boyhood was a frontier existence among Pottawatomi tribes in southern Michigan, where his father served as interpreter between Jesuit missionaries and Indians. His only formal schooling was a few months in a parochial school.
“Jo,” as he was always called, began five years of "tramp" printing and then settled in Detroit as a printer for the Detroit Post and Tribune. He married his first cousin, Sophie Elizabeth Archambeau, in 1877. Their children were Laura, Charlotte, and Laurance
Laurance Labadie
Laurance Labadie was an American individualist anarchist and author. He was the son of American individualist anarchist Joseph Labadie.His writings include Origin and Nature of Government and Anarchism Applied to Economics....
, also a prominent anarchist essayist.
Labadie joined the newly formed Socialist Labor Party
Socialist Labor Party of America
The Socialist Labor Party of America , established in 1876 as the Workingmen's Party, is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. Originally known as the Workingmen's Party of America, the party changed its name in 1877 and has...
in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
at the age of 27 and soon was distributing socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
tracts on street corners. As a printer, he was also a member of Detroit's Typographical Union 18 and was one of its two delegates to the International Typographical Union convention in Detroit in 1878.
In 1878 Labadie organized Detroit's first assembly of the Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor was the largest and one of the most important American labor organizations of the 1880s. Its most important leader was Terence Powderly...
, and ran unsuccessfully for mayor on the Greenback-Labor ticket. In 1880, he served as first president of the Detroit Trades Council, and continued issuing a succession of labor papers and columns for the national labor press, including the Detroit Times
Detroit Times
- Overview :The first iteration of the Detroit Times was an antislavery bulletin only printed from May - November, 1842 by Warren Isham.The second iteration began in November 1854. Published by G.S. Conklin and E.T. Sherlock, with John N. Ingersoll as editor...
, Advance and Labor Leaf, Labor Review, The Socialist, and Lansing Sentinel, which were admired for their forthright style. His column "Cranky Notions" was widely published.
In 1883 Labadie embraced individualist anarchism, a non-violent doctrine. He became closely allied with Benjamin Tucker
Benjamin Tucker
Benjamin Ricketson Tucker was a proponent of American individualist anarchism in the 19th century, and editor and publisher of the individualist anarchist periodical Liberty.-Summary:Tucker says that he became an anarchist at the age of 18...
, the country's foremost exponent of that doctrine, and frequently wrote for the latter's publication, "Liberty." Without the oppression of the state, Labadie believed, humans would choose to harmonize with "the great natural laws...without robbing [their] fellows through interest, profit, rent and taxes." However, he supported community cooperation, as he supported community control of water utilities, streets, and railroads (Martin). Although he did not support the militant anarchism of the Haymarket anarchists, he fought for the clemency of the accused because he did not believe they were the perpetators. He broke with the Knights of Labor because its leader, Terence Powderly
Terence V. Powderly
Terence Vincent "Terry" Powderly was born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, the son of Irish Catholic immigrants. He was a highly visible national spokesman for the working man as head of the Knights of Labor from 1879 until 1893...
, repudiated them.
In 1888, Labadie organized the Michigan Federation of Labor, became its first president, and forged an alliance with Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers was an English-born American cigar maker who became a labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor , and served as that organization's president from 1886 to 1894 and from 1895 until his death in 1924...
. At age fifty he began writing verse and publishing artistic hand-crafted booklets. In 1908, the city postal inspector banned his mail because it bore stickers with anarchist quotations. A month later the Detroit water board, where he was working as a clerk, dismissed him for expressing anarchist sentiments. In both cases, the officials were forced to back down in the face of massive public protest for the person well-known in Detroit as its "Gentle Anarchist".
Beginning in the early 1900s, Labadie’s extensive collection of labor literature was sought by several universities for the growing field of labor scholarship. Labadie chose the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, where it formed the nucleus of the renowned Labadie Collection
Labadie Collection
The Labadie Collection at the University of Michigan is recognized as one of the world’s most complete collections of materials documenting the history of anarchism and other radical movements from the 19th century to the present....
, considered the most comprehensive repository of radical literature in the United States.
Joseph Labadie died on October 7, 1933, in Detroit, Michigan, at the age of 83.
Works Online
- 1895: "Is Tyranny a Necessity?", from LibertyLiberty (1881-1908)Liberty was a nineteenth century anarchist periodical published in the United States by Benjamin Tucker, from August 1881 to April 1908. The periodical was instrumental in developing and formalizing the individualist anarchist philosophy through publishing essays and serving as a format for...
, Vol. X.–No. 21, Whole No. 307 (February 23, 1895). 7.