William Bauchop Wilson
Encyclopedia
William Bauchop Wilson was a (Scottish
-born) American labor leader and politician. He is best remembered for his service as the first Secretary of Labor between 1913 and 1921 under President
Woodrow Wilson
.
, Scotland. He was the third child of Adam Black Wilson and Helen Nelson Bauchop Wilson, and the first surviving early childhood. His father was a coal miner.
During a mining strike in February 1868 the family was unceremoniously evicted from their company-owned home. Adam Wilson unsuccessfully traveled around Scotland attempting to find other work. He ultimately decided to emigrate to the United States to find employment there, leaving his wife and three children to set sail across the Atlantic in April 1870.
Adam Wilson found his place in the bituminous coal
region of Pennsylvania
, setting in the little town of Arnot, located in Tioga County
. After finding a job, Adam Wilson sent for his wife and family, who — together with his father-in-law — departed Glasgow for America in August 1870.
Immediately after arriving in the United States William was enrolled in public school in Arnot. This interval proved to be short-lived, however, as William's father began to suffer serious back problems and was unable to complete his work without assistance. Therefore, at the age of 9, William was removed from school and sent to help his father in the mines. He would continue to work as a miner for nearly two decades.
In 1874, young William engaged in labor organizing for the first time when he attempted to launch a union for the boys who worked as trappers
, manually operating the ventilation of the mines. When the fledgling union threatened a strike over a wage reduction, union representative Wilson discovered the limits of union solidarity in the face of superior force, when he was thrown over a foreman's knee and paddled. The incipient strike was broken.
The event proved to be a valuable learning experience for William, who later recalled in his unpublished memoirs:
In 1876, when Wilson was just 14 years old, declining membership in the local Miners' and Laborers' Benevolent Association caused the remaining members of that group to select the energetic youngster as the organization's Secretary. Wilson began to correspond with other labor activists around the country and the groundwork for his career as a trade union functionary was laid.
, Sixty-first
, and Sixty-second
Congresses. He served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Labor during the Sixty-second Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1912 and for election in 1914.
in the Cabinet of President Woodrow Wilson
and served from March 5, 1913, to March 5, 1921. During the First World War
was a member of the Council of National Defense
.
He was a member of the Federal Board for Vocational Education from 1914 to 1921 and served as chairman of the board in 1920 and 1921. He was appointed on March 4, 1921, a member of the International Joint Commission
, created to prevent disputes regarding the use of the boundary waters between the United States and Canada
, and served until March 21, 1921, when he resigned.
in 1926. After his public service he was engaged in mining
and agricultural pursuits near Blossburg, PA. He died on a train near Savannah, Georgia
, and is buried in Arbon Cemetery in Blossburg.
. His body was interred at Arbon Cemetery in Blossburg, Pennsylvania
.
In 2007, Wilson was named to the U.S. Department of Labor's Labor Hall of Fame, located inside the North Plaza of the Frances Perkins Building
on 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
-born) American labor leader and politician. He is best remembered for his service as the first Secretary of Labor between 1913 and 1921 under President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
.
Early life
William B. Wilson was born on April 2, 1862 in Blantyre, LanarkshireLanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
, Scotland. He was the third child of Adam Black Wilson and Helen Nelson Bauchop Wilson, and the first surviving early childhood. His father was a coal miner.
During a mining strike in February 1868 the family was unceremoniously evicted from their company-owned home. Adam Wilson unsuccessfully traveled around Scotland attempting to find other work. He ultimately decided to emigrate to the United States to find employment there, leaving his wife and three children to set sail across the Atlantic in April 1870.
Adam Wilson found his place in the bituminous coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
region of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, setting in the little town of Arnot, located in Tioga County
Tioga County, Pennsylvania
Tioga County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,981. Tioga County was created on March 26, 1804, from part of Lycoming County and named for the Tioga River. Its county seat is Wellsboro....
. After finding a job, Adam Wilson sent for his wife and family, who — together with his father-in-law — departed Glasgow for America in August 1870.
Immediately after arriving in the United States William was enrolled in public school in Arnot. This interval proved to be short-lived, however, as William's father began to suffer serious back problems and was unable to complete his work without assistance. Therefore, at the age of 9, William was removed from school and sent to help his father in the mines. He would continue to work as a miner for nearly two decades.
In 1874, young William engaged in labor organizing for the first time when he attempted to launch a union for the boys who worked as trappers
Hurrying
A hurrier, also sometimes called a coal drawer or coal thruster, was a child or woman employed by a collier to transport the coal that they had mined. Women would normally get the children to help them because of the difficulty of carrying the coal...
, manually operating the ventilation of the mines. When the fledgling union threatened a strike over a wage reduction, union representative Wilson discovered the limits of union solidarity in the face of superior force, when he was thrown over a foreman's knee and paddled. The incipient strike was broken.
The event proved to be a valuable learning experience for William, who later recalled in his unpublished memoirs:
"His argument had been forceful and effective, but it was applied to the wrong part of my anatomy to be permanently convincing.... It helped impress upon my mind the fact that until working men were as strong, collectively, as their employers, they would be forced...to accept whatever conditions were imposed upon them."
In 1876, when Wilson was just 14 years old, declining membership in the local Miners' and Laborers' Benevolent Association caused the remaining members of that group to select the energetic youngster as the organization's Secretary. Wilson began to correspond with other labor activists around the country and the groundwork for his career as a trade union functionary was laid.
United Mine Workers official
He served as international secretary-treasurer of the United Mine Workers of America from 1900 to 1908.House of Representatives
He was elected as a Democrat to the Sixtieth60th United States Congress
The Sixtieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1907 to March 4, 1909, during the last two years of...
, Sixty-first
61st United States Congress
The Sixty-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1909 to March 4, 1911, during the first two years of...
, and Sixty-second
62nd United States Congress
- House of Representatives :* Democratic : 230 * Republican : 162* Socialist : 1* Independent : 1TOTAL members: 394-Senate:* President: James S...
Congresses. He served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Labor during the Sixty-second Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1912 and for election in 1914.
Secretary of Labor
He was appointed United States Secretary of LaborUnited States Secretary of Labor
The United States Secretary of Labor is the head of the Department of Labor who exercises control over the department and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all other issues involving any form of business-person controversies....
in the Cabinet of President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
and served from March 5, 1913, to March 5, 1921. During the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
was a member of the Council of National Defense
Council of National Defense
The Council of National Defense was a United States organization formed during World War I to coordinate resources and industry in support of the war effort, including the coordination of transportation, industrial and farm production, financial support for the war, and public...
.
He was a member of the Federal Board for Vocational Education from 1914 to 1921 and served as chairman of the board in 1920 and 1921. He was appointed on March 4, 1921, a member of the International Joint Commission
International Joint Commission
The International Joint Commission is an independent binational organization established by the United States and Canada under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909.The Commission has responsibilities related to the following treaties and agreements:...
, created to prevent disputes regarding the use of the boundary waters between the United States and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and served until March 21, 1921, when he resigned.
Later years
He was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 1926. After his public service he was engaged in mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
and agricultural pursuits near Blossburg, PA. He died on a train near Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, and is buried in Arbon Cemetery in Blossburg.
Death and legacy
William Bauchop Wilson died on May 25, 1934 aboard a train near Savannah, GeorgiaSavannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
. His body was interred at Arbon Cemetery in Blossburg, Pennsylvania
Blossburg, Pennsylvania
Blossburg is a borough in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The population was 1,480 at the 2000 census.-History:In 1792 a party of immigrants who were building the Williamson Road from Williamsport, in Lycoming County, to Painted Post in New York under the leadership of Robert and...
.
In 2007, Wilson was named to the U.S. Department of Labor's Labor Hall of Fame, located inside the North Plaza of the Frances Perkins Building
Frances Perkins Building
The Frances Perkins Building is the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the United States Department of Labor. It is located at 200 Constitution Avenue NW and runs alongside Interstate 395. The structure is named after Frances Perkins, the U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1933–1945 and the first female...
on 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.
External links
- "William Bauchop Wilson: First U.S. Secretary of Labor," www.blossburg.org Retrieved March 6, 2010.
- "William B. Wilson (1862–1934): Labor Hall of Fame Honoree (2007)," U.S. Department of Labor biography. Retrieved March 6, 2010.
- The William Bauchop Wilson Papers, including political letters, official correspondence, files from his tenure with the Department of Labor and many other materials, are available for research use at the Historical Society of PennsylvaniaHistorical Society of PennsylvaniaThe Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historical society founded in 1824 and based in Philadelphia. The Society's building, designed by Addison Hutton and listed on Philadelphia's Register of Historical Places, houses some 600,000 printed items and over 19 million manuscript and graphic items...
.