Description: Nate read the highly influential but now largely forgotten 1888 utopian futurism novel “Looking Backward” by Edward Bellamy, and he discusses it with Bill.
Links and notes for Ep. 337 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/AFD-Ep-337-Links-and-Notes-Edward-Bellamy’s-“Looking-Backward”.pdf
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Description: William B. Wilson, the first U.S. Secretary of Labor, began union organizing at age 12. He went on to serve in Congress before leading the department he helped create to aid the interests of workers. Bill and Rachel discuss.
Links and notes for Ep. 335 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/AFD-Ep-335-Links-and-Notes-William-B-Wilson.pdf
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Description: On November 19, 1915, legendary IWW songwriter and migrant worker Joe Hill was executed by firing squad in Utah for a murder he did not commit. Bill and Rachel discuss.
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Links and notes for Ep. 334 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/AFD-Ep-334-Links-and-Notes-The-Execution-of-the-Singer-Joe-Hill-by-the-Murderous-Capitalist-Class.pdf
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Description: In 1902 and 1919, US coal miners undertook huge strikes and both times they won. In one case, the intervention of a US President sealed the win. But what happened in the other? Bill and Rachel discuss.
Links and notes for Ep. 333 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/AFD-Ep-333-Links-and-Notes-The-Coal-Strikes-of-1902-and-1919.pdf
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It’s Armistice Day once again. In 1920 General John H. Sherburne of Brookline MA testified to Congress that US commanders had refused to cancel orders sending thousands of men to die on November 11 1918, hours before the 11 AM ceasefire was agreed to begin
The Nov 11 1918 Armistice terms imposed on Germany, which was less able to maintain troops in the field by the hour as revolution swept through the cities and the ranks, allowed the Allies to occupy territory from the front line to the Rhine River, distances of often over 200 miles. Yet Allied commanders pushed that day to take as much territory as possible under fire instead of waiting to take it bloodlessly.
The Armistice that concluded WWI should remind us each year not to wage wars for billionaires, aristocrats, or the nationalist henchmen of either. Peace comes from their removal from power & from worldwide solidarity among all who do not profit idly on the backs of others’ work.
Related Essay:
“Afterwar: The Armistice That Didn’t End Europe’s War” – Nov 14 2014
Description: Bill and Rachel discuss pedal-assist e-bikes, the rise of bicycles during the Second Industrial Revolution, and the historic role of bikes in feminism and the military.
Links and notes for Ep. 332 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/AFD-Ep-332-Links-and-Notes-The-Rise-of-Bicycles.pdf
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Description: In the late 1500s, a slave in Mexico led a guerrilla slave rebellion into the mountains of Veracruz that proved so durable that Spanish authorities had to recognize a peace treaty by the 1610s. Bill and Nate discuss.
Notes and links for Ep. 331 (PDF): http://arsenalfordemocracy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/AFD-Ep-331-Links-and-Notes-Gaspar-Yanga.pdf
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