From the end of the Civil War until her death in 1930 at the age of 100, Mother Jones was a tireless fighter for the working class. This collection chronicles decades of labor battles—from the coalfields of West Virginia to the steel mills of Chicago and the garment shops of New York. “The speeches especially show Jones’ strong commitment to making life better for the country’s working men and women, and the no-holds-barred language that she used to express that commitment.” —Research Book News “Foner emphasizes the constancy of Jones's commitment to socialism, describes her effectiveness as a union organizer, and challenges feminist contentions that Mother Jones was opposed to or, at best, uninterested in the women's rights movement.” —Choice Review “Foner has provided what is needed to understand and appreciate Mother Jones. Each speech is set in context; each document is followed by explanatory notes.” —Illinois Historical Journal “A veritable archive of the legendary radical American labor organizer Mary Harris Jones.” —Library Journal “She demanded justice and unionization although she faced the militia and imprisonment.” —Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies Mary Harris Jones , (“Mother Jones”) (1837–1930) was a militant fighter for workers rights and a supporter of the October 1917 Russian Revolution. In Pittsburgh in 1877 she helped organize what became known as the Great Railroad Strike. She then led hundreds of strikes, including those that were part of the fight for the eight-hour day. In the early 1900s she helped in the effort to organize coal miners in West Virginia and Pennsylvania and participated in several industrial strikes on the East Coast. She continued to organize in the coalfields well into her nineties. An extensive selection of her writings and speeches is collected in Mother Jones Speaks: Speeches and Writings of a Working-Class Fighter (1983). Philip Sheldon Foner (1910–1994) was a historian whose works include: Mother Jones Speaks: Speeches and Writings of a Working-Class Fighter (1983, editor) The Great Labor Uprising of 1877 (1977) The Autobiographies of the Haymarket Martyrs (1977, editor) W.E.B. Du Bois Speaks (1970, editor)