1919 Boston Police Strike

1919 Boston Police Strike

The 1919 Boston Police Strike was a three-day stoppage by members of the Boston Police Department in Boston, Massachusetts that began on September 9, 1919. The strike followed unsuccessful attempts by officers to affiliate with the American Federation of Labor through the AFL-chartered Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, and it provoked a major public crisis involving municipal, state, and federal actors such as Calvin Coolidge, Governor Calvin Coolidge's administration, and law enforcement contingents including the Massachusetts State Police, the United States Army under General John J. Pershing, and private security forces from industrial interests. The strike had wide-ranging political, legal, and labor implications that resonated through the 1920 United States presidential election and the broader post-World War I labor upheavals.

Background

Tensions built during the post-World War I demobilization era as returning veterans and urban workers in Boston faced inflationary pressures, housing shortages, and disputes over wages with city officials including Mayor Andrew James Peters. The police force, originally organized under municipal statutes going back to the 19th century reform movements and influenced by professionalization drives from figures like August Vollmer, suffered from low pay compared with police in cities such as New York City and Chicago. Officers sought recognition through the American Federation of Labor and allies including the National Civic Federation, drawing inspiration from labor actions in Seattle and the 1919 steel strike, while municipal authorities cited precedents such as the Policemen's Benevolent Association disputes in other jurisdictions. The climate of 1919 also included fears generated by the First Red Scare, the Boston Molasses Disaster's lingering civic anxieties, and public debates involving figures like Samuel Gompers and critics in the press including the Boston Globe.

The Strike

On September 9, 1919, hundreds of patrolmen, led by leaders of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, walked off the job after the Police Commissioner Edwin Upton Curtis and city officials denied recognition of their proposed collective bargaining affiliation with the AFL. Striking officers were influenced by earlier labor successes in places like Seattle and by national union organizers associated with the American Federation of Labor. The sudden absence of regular officers prompted looting and civil disorder in neighborhoods including Scollay Square, North End, and sections of South Boston. Emergency measures mobilized responses from municipal officials such as Mayor Andrew James Peters and state authorities including Governor Calvin Coolidge, while law enforcement assistance arrived from units like the Massachusetts State Guard and federal troops under commanders appointed after World War I.

Government and Public Response

Municipal and state leaders reacted decisively: Police Commissioner Edwin Upton Curtis and Mayor Andrew James Peters refused to negotiate with the strikers and called for replacement hiring practices invoking veterans' preference policies for returning World War I soldiers. Governor Calvin Coolidge gained national attention by endorsing firm action against the strike and calling in the Massachusetts State Guard and other militia units; his public statements were amplified by newspapers such as the New York Times and the Boston Herald, and by political figures including Warren G. Harding and Woodrow Wilson's appointees. Business leaders, including representatives of the American Federation of Labor's opponents and industrialists connected to organizations like the National Association of Manufacturers, publicly supported dismissal of strike participants, while civic groups such as the Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce urged restoration of order. The media framed the strike within the context of the First Red Scare and recent events like the 1919 anarchist bombings, intensifying calls for law-and-order responses by federal entities including the Department of Justice.

Aftermath and Consequences

Following the strike, city officials dismissed more than a thousand officers and recruited replacements emphasizing veterans and applicants unaffiliated with unions, reorganizing the force under new policies influenced by progressive-era reformers and professional chiefs from cities like New York City and Chicago. The political consequences propelled Calvin Coolidge to national prominence, helping shape his path to the 1920 Republican National Convention and eventual nomination for Vice President and later Presidency under Warren G. Harding. Labor organizations such as the American Federation of Labor and local unions reassessed strategies after setbacks in Boston and in contemporaneous disputes like the Seattle General Strike and the Coal Strike of 1919. The episode also affected municipal policing practices in other cities including Philadelphia and Cleveland and informed debates in state legislatures and municipal councils concerning police discipline, veterans' preferences, and public safety budgets.

Legal and Labor Legacy

Legally, the dismissals were upheld in subsequent administrative determinations and influenced debates leading to statutory changes in police employment across states and municipalities, involving bodies such as state legislatures and municipal commissions modeled on reforms from New York City's civil service experiments. The strike contributed to the reluctance of many police forces to affiliate with the American Federation of Labor or the Congress of Industrial Organizations in subsequent decades, and shaped jurisprudence on public employee labor rights that later intersected with cases involving the National Labor Relations Board and state civil service protections. National political fallout accelerated support for candidates like Calvin Coolidge at the 1920 United States presidential election, while labor historians compare the incident with other 1919 labor conflicts including the Great Steel Strike of 1919 and the Seattle General Strike; scholars reference archives such as the Library of Congress and collections of the Boston Public Library for primary documents. The strike remains a pivotal study in policing, labor law, and interwar American politics, cited in works by historians of the Progressive Era and students of the First Red Scare.

Category:Labor disputes in the United States Category:History of Boston Category:1919 in Massachusetts