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Author Kaunonen, Gary

Title Challenge accepted : a Finnish immigrant response to industrial America in Michigan's copper country / Gary Kaunonen
Published East Lansing : Michigan State University Press, ©2010

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Description 1 online resource (xxv, 255 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations, maps
Contents Finnish immigration and settlement in a Hancock, Michigan neighborhood -- Finnish immigrant cultural organizations and the "Finn Hall" -- Finnish immigrant socialist-unionists in Hancock -- The early existence of the Työmies Publishing Company, 1904-09 -- The Työmies Publishing Company reaches maturity, 1910-1913 -- The 1913-14 copper country strike -- Gun hounds, scabs, and tragedy -- Conclusion -- Epilogue -- Appendix 1: Työmies Publishing Company staff and contributors, 1909 -- Appendix 2: Työmies Publishing Company interior use of space, 1913 -- Appendix 3: Copper territory strikers' march, 1913 -- Appendix 4: Työmies Publishing Company's composite list of Italian Hall deceased, 1913
Summary The copper mines of Michigan's Copper Country, in the Upper Peninsula, were active for 150 years, from 1845 until 1995. Many of the mine workers attempted to unionize, in order to obtain better working conditions, wages, and hours. The Michigan miners were unsuccessful in their struggles with mine owners, which came to a climax in the 1913-14 Copper Country Strike. This nine-month battle between workers represented by the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) and the three major mining companies in the region took a particularly nasty turn on Christmas Eve, 1913, at a party for strikers and their families organized by the WFM. As many as 500 people were in the Italian Benevolent Society hall in Calumet, Michigan, when someone reportedly shouted 'fire.' There was no fire, but it is estimated that 73-79 people, more than 60 of them children, died in the stampede for the exit. Against this dramatic backdrop, Gary Kaunonen tells the story of Finnish immigrants to Copper Country. By examining the written record and material culture of Finnish immigrant proletarians-analyzing buildings, cultural institutions, and publications of the socialist-unionist media-Kaunonen adds a new depth to our understanding of the time and place, the events and a people
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Subject Työmies Publishing Company -- History
SUBJECT Työmies Publishing Company fast
Subject Finnish Americans -- Michigan -- Hancock -- History
Immigrants -- Michigan -- Hancock -- History
Finnish Americans -- Michigan -- Hancock -- Social life and customs
Finnish Americans -- Michigan -- Hancock -- Social conditions
Working class -- Michigan -- Hancock -- History
Labor unions -- Michigan -- Hancock -- History
HISTORY -- United States -- State & Local -- Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI)
Ethnic relations
Finnish Americans
Finnish Americans -- Social life and customs
Immigrants
Labor unions
Social conditions
Working class
SUBJECT Hancock (Mich.) -- History
Hancock (Mich.) -- Social conditions
Hancock (Mich.) -- Ethnic relations
Subject Michigan -- Hancock
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781609172084
1609172086
9781628961546
1628961546
9781628951547
1628951540