MassMoments tells us that on this day – February 22, 1860 – the shoeworkers of Lynn, Massachusetts  went on strike by the thousands. The strikers insisted that “the rights they sought to preserve were the same rights enjoyed by free men everywhere — the right not to be controlled by an oppressive master.” In the course of this 1860 walkout – over 20,000 workers  participated in what has been called “one of the greatest workers’ protests in the history of the nation.”

      …in 1860, thousands of striking shoeworkers filled Lyceum Hall in Lynn. By choosing to begin their protest on Washington’s birthday, the strikers were invoking the memory of their revolutionary forefathers. Lynn had been a shoemaking town since the early 1800s. Hard times had now caused management to cut wages and speed up production. Declaring they would “live by honest toil, but never consent to be slaves,” over 20,000 workers — more than had participated in any previous strike — joined the walkout. The size of the protest did not insure its success, however. With the owners refusing to negotiate and growing numbers of workers returning to their jobs, the strike collapsed after six weeks.