When Waltham Strikes shares the stories of the strikes that took place in 1821 at the Boston Manufacturing Company and in 1924 at the Waltham Watch Factory to illuminate Waltham’s relevance to the history of labor demonstrations while connecting these events with modern labor movements.
The Strikes
The Boston Manufacturing Company (BMC)
In the spring of 1821, women employed by the BMC staged the first industrialized strike in response to unexpected wage cuts at the site of the mill complex that our museum is housed in today.
The Waltham Watch Company
On August 11th, 1924 workers at the Waltham Watch Company left their benches in protest of similarly unexpected wage cuts. Before long, 2,800 Waltham Factory employees had joined to form a massive striking body. Much of “Watchcity” was embroiled in this movement that lasted until January 8th, 1925.
Want to learn more?
Check out the resources below or, come by the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation
open Wednesday through Friday 10am to 3pm, Saturday 10am to 2:30pm.
Virtual Resources
Primary Sources:
Isaac Markham Letter
Written May 30th, 1821, this letter serves as the only record of the first industrialized labor strike in the United States.
Click the images to see exactly how he described the events and the other things a machinist found important to write to his brother in 1821.
Lowell Offering
The Lowell Offering was the first magazine to be entirely written by women. Issues contained collections of text created by women working in the textile mills of Lowell that opened in 1822 as a larger version of the Boston Manufacturing Company.
This issue was published in 1842 and contains short stories, poems, advice, notices, and more.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THIS ISSUE
Lesson Plans
Coming Soon!
