Keep the Wretches in Order - 9780299323349

University of Wisconsin Press

Keep the Wretches in OrderAmerica's Biggest Mass Trial, the Rise of the Justice Department, and the Fall of the IWW\nAuthor(s): Dean Strang, Nancy Gertner\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: University of Wisconsin Press, United States\nImprint: University of Wisconsin Press\nISBN-13: 9780299323349, 978-0299323349\nSynopsis\nBefore World War I, the government reaction to labor dissent had been local, ad hoc, and quasi-military. Sheriffs, mayors, or governors would deputize strikebreakers or call out the state militia, usually at the bidding of employers. When the United States entered the conflict in 1917, government and industry feared that strikes would endanger war production; a more coordinated, national strategy would be necessary. To prevent stoppages, the Department of Justice embarked on a sweeping new effort-replacing gunmen with lawyers. The department systematically targeted the nation's most radical and innovative union, the Industrial Workers of the World, also known as the W.