Joe Hill (1879 - 1915)

Tue Oct 07, 1879

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Joe Hill, born on this day in 1879, was a Swedish-American labor organizer, songwriter, and member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). In 1915, he was convicted of murder in a controversial trial and executed by the state.

Hill, an immigrant worker frequently facing unemployment and underemployment, became a popular songwriter and cartoonist for the union. His most famous songs include “The Preacher and the Slave”, “There Is Power in a Union”, and “Casey Jones - the Union Scab”, which describes the harsh lives of itinerant workers and calls for them to organize to improve their working conditions.

In 1914, John G. Morrison, a Salt Lake City area grocer and former policeman, and his son were shot and killed by two men. The same evening, Hill arrived at a doctor’s office with a gunshot wound, and briefly mentioned a fight over a woman. He refused to explain further, even after he was accused of the grocery store murders on the basis of his injury.

Hill was convicted of the murders in a controversial trial and executed on November 19th, despite widespread calls for clemency, including from President Woodrow Wilson and Helen Keller.

“I will die like a true-blue rebel. Don’t waste any time in mourning - organize.”

- Joe Hill