In the early morning hours of June 23, 1914, over twenty  dynamite blasts leveled the Butte Miners' Union Hall.  That dramatic  event informed the nation and the world that Butte, Montana-the  "Gibraltar of Unionism" and the toughest mining town in western  America-was divided against itself.  Underlying that violence and  antecedent to it is one of the most important stories in Montana's  political and labor history-the decades-long tension between labor and  management in a world-class copper camp and the role that socialism and  militant unionism played in that struggle. In this volume, author Jerry  W. Calvert presents the first analytical study of socialist politics in  Butte.  Calvert takes readers inside union meetings, city council  sessions, and electoral campaigns to explain the rapid ascendancy,  dominance, and sudden decline of socialist Butte.  The socialist  triumph in Butte was hailed by Socialist Party of American leaders as  the beginning of a sweep of municipal elections across the country.   But the SPA's success was short-lived and the socialist insurgency in  Butte sputtered and died, as it did elsewhere in the nation.  As  Calvert explains, Butte's socialists could not overcome internecine  disputes and the arrayed and entrenched interests of capitalist power.   Jerry Calvert has captured the drama and buoyant personalities that  made politics in "The Gibraltar" idiosyncratic, dynamic, and sometimes  dangerous.  He writes about men and ideas in conflict and about  political decisions that changed Montana's history.  And he argues  convincingly that despite their failure Butte's socialists succeeded in  setting a new standard in reform and municipal politics in Montana.

The Gibraltar: Socialism and Labor in Butte, Montana, 1895-1920

History

Calvert, Jerry W.

Americas

Montana Historical Society

Not in precious metals alone: A manuscript history of Montana

Not in Precious Metals Alone: A Manuscript History of Montana

The story of how Wells Fargo built up those lines, operated them, and expanded into banking and other enterprises is more than the history of a solitary business concern.

Wells Fargo Stagecoaching in Montana Territory

Jackson, William Turrentine

Business & Money

F. Jay Haynes, Photographer

Arts & Photography

Montana Historical Society Editors

Photography & Video

Looks at the lives of the women who helped shape the mining community

No Step Backward

Politics & Social Sciences

Petrik, Paula

Social Sciences

In the early morning hours of June 23, 1914, over twenty dynamite blasts leveled the Butte Miners' Union Hall. That dramatic event informed the nation and the world that Butte, Montana-the "Gibraltar of Unionism" and the toughest mining town in western America-was divided against itself. Underlying that violence and antecedent to it is one of the most important stories in Montana's political and labor history-the decades-long tension between labor and management in a world-class copper camp and the role that socialism and militant unionism played in that struggle. In this volume, author Jerry W. Calvert presents the first analytical study of socialist politics in Butte. Calvert takes readers inside union meetings, city council sessions, and electoral campaigns to explain the rapid ascendancy, dominance, and sudden decline of socialist Butte. The socialist triumph in Butte was hailed by Socialist Party of American leaders as the beginning of a sweep of municipal elections across the country. But the SPA's success was short-lived and the socialist insurgency in Butte sputtered and died, as it did elsewhere in the nation. As Calvert explains, Butte's socialists could not overcome internecine disputes and the arrayed and entrenched interests of capitalist power. Jerry Calvert has captured the drama and buoyant personalities that made politics in "The Gibraltar" idiosyncratic, dynamic, and sometimes dangerous. He writes about men and ideas in conflict and about political decisions that changed Montana's history. And he argues convincingly that despite their failure Butte's socialists succeeded in setting a new standard in reform and municipal politics in Montana.

Mt Historical Highway Marker E03

Travel

Axline, Jon

United States

Placer mining companies revolutionized the mining industry during the late 19th century when they first put dredges to work on previously unprofitable ground. Using corporate papers held by Harvard University's Baker Library, Spence (history, U. of Illinois) recounts the story of one such company in Virginia City, Montana. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

The Conrey Placer Mining Company: A Pioneer Gold Dredging Enterprise in Montana, 1897-1922

Spence, Clark C.

It was the greatest of all Indian wars and it involved more than the annihilation of George Armstrong Custer's command in June 1876. It was a confrontation of two flowering cultures and involved not one, but more than a dozen battles, played out over the vast northern plains. The stakes were high: gold in the Black Hills, rights to the great Yellowstone Basin, and two ways of life. For the Sioux and Cheyenne it was, as Black Elk later put it, "all our own country," and they defended it fiercely. This collection brings together for the first time fifteen classic articles-many now difficult to obtain-on the Great Sioux War. All originally appeared in Montana The Magazine of Western History.

The Great Sioux War, 1876-1877

In recent years the scope of historical inquiry has widened considerably. This timely collection of essays investigates people and conditions that have received little attention previously in the historical mainstream. In particular, women, Native Americans, immigrant groups, the environment, and the twentieth century often have gotten short shrift. This anthology attempts to compensate for what has not been emphasized before by including recent essays on these topics while also offering articles on more traditional topics like Lewis and Clark, labor strife, Montana politics, and even Custer's Last Stand. Most of the sixteen essays originally appeared in Montana The Magazine of Western History.

The Montana Heritage: An Anthology of Historical Essays

Swartout, Robert R.

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Books by Montana Historical Society