The American Labor movement could be viewed as the civil rights movement for oppressed labor-men. The movement was fueled by the labor men’s desire to reverse the wage cuts and improve working conditions in the work place. The Government took a blind eye to the battle, therefore chaos continued for years. The workers began to understand that in order to overcome adversity they had to band together and maintain solidarity. Joe Hill and his music played an instrumental role in the labor movement. Joe Hill helped unite workers everywhere in the unified fight for fair rights. He used the broadside ballad to reach workers all across America. Hill also reached the souls of aspiring artists such as Woody Guthrie, Paul Robeson, and Bob Dylan. Paul Robeson was a popular activist and proved that Joe Hill was a timeless character in his song “Joe Hill”. The song was just one example of how powerful and inspiring Joe will was during and post American Labor movement.
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In this video Joe Glazer discusses that American Labor Movement and the importance of solidarity. Without solidarity it would be easy for the crooked bosses and politicians to dismantle the movement. The great thing about labor music is that it provided unanimous solidarity because of the universal message. Music itself may have been the best weapon that the movement was able to use. Music can be used when words and contracts have exhausted their meanings. Courtney Brown added validity to the power of music theory by stating that music was exactly what the workers needed during the chaos.
Pete Seegers popular song “Solidarity forever is an example of how song not only preached unity but also promoted the union.
The song I choose is called “Casey Jones” this tune was not normal it may in fact have been completely original tune. This song is metaphorical and humorously illustrates the results of not joining the union. This song won’t prove effective in every situation but it has a catchy tune, and message that takes labor music from just inspirational to the field of entertaining.
