The 1886 Southwest Railroad Strike, J. West Goodwin's Law and Order League, and the Blacklisting of Martin Irons

Bibliographic Data

ID9967775
AuthorsCynthia Pearson (0000-0001-7357-2438, University of North Texas, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume68
IssueS31
Pages213-235
Publication date2023-02-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Review of Social History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-8590 • E-ISSN: 1469-512X
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0020859023000020
OpenAlexW4322504489
LanguageEN
References cited18

This article explores blacklisting practices following the massive 1886 Southwest strike staged by the Knights of Labor (KOL) against Jay Gould's railroad empire. It focuses mostly on strike leader Martin Irons and blacklisting advocate and newspaperman J. West Goodwin. The strike, which started in Sedalia, Missouri, before spreading to other states, was a disaster for the KOL. The union declined in its aftermath chiefly because of the repression unleashed by public and private forces, including businessmen-led Law and Order Leagues. After the strike, employers blacklisted many, including strike leader and Sedalia resident Martin Irons. Irons, constantly on the move, suffered from joblessness, underemployment, arrests, and broken health before he died in central Texas in 1900. Few blacklisting advocates wanted Irons to suffer more than J. West Goodwin. The Law and Order League leader and newspaperman repeatedly wrote about what he considered Martin Irons's moral lapses and shortsightedness. By focusing on Goodwin's promotion of blacklisting and Irons's post-strike struggles, this essay helps us better appreciate the underexplored dimensions of this form of punishment

Blacklisting · Business · Economic history · League · Order (exchange · Political science · American History and Culture · History · Latin American and Latino Studies · Law · Race, History, and American Society