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Centralia, Collective Memory, And The Tragedy Of 1919, Shawn T. Daley

Dissertations and Theses

The Centralia Tragedy of 1919 has been represented in numerous works over the course of the past 100 years. The vast majority of them concern the events of the day of the Tragedy, November 11, 1919, and whether a small group of Wobblies – members of a union group known as the International Workers of the World (I.W.W.) – opened fire on a group of parading American Legionnaires. This particular element, whether or not the Wobblies opened fire on the Legionnaires or the Legionnaires actually charged the hall where the Wobblies were staying, has generated significant concern in academic and …

Labor Violence: The Centralia Case, The Iww And Its Enemies, Lawrence C. Skoog

Dissertations and Theses

Armistice Day 1919 was enthusiastically celebrated in Centralia, Washington. The Principle event of the day’s activities was a parade organized under the leadership of the newly formed American Legion. But the parade was to be more than the simple affirmation of the victory in France, it was to be a reaffirmation of the patriotism of the newly returned sailors and soldiers and their home-town supporters.

Centralia was a troubled city in 1919. Organized labor of the most militant and extreme sort was challenging the oligopoly of the lumber trust. The Industrial Workers of the World had been successful in their …