Lewis versus Howat: An Analysis of Labor Rhetoric, Education, and Class Privilege in Early Twentieth Century Mining Politics

Annotation 5

When American workers failed to follow his lead and abandon Roosevelt, Lewis resigned as president of the CIO. In 1942, he broke with the industrial union movement he had helped create and took the UMWA out of the CIO. Thereafter, Lewis largely devoted himself to the UMWA, remaining a bold and visionary labor leader. Bitter mine strikes in 1943 and 1946 earned him the enmity of many, but Lewis persisted. He continued his militancy; his miners went on strikes or "work stoppages" annually. In 1945 to 1950, he led strikes that President Harry S. Truman denounced as threats to national security. In response, industry, railroads and homeowners rapidly switched from coal to oil.

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