210 ChaPter^4
tive AFL, and of course corporations all, to varying degrees, limited the impact
of the new law. Ultimately, throughout the entire 1930s, workers themselves
took things into their own hands and staged widespread protests and even vio-
lence on a level only seen in U.S. history in the late 1800s. Perhaps more than
at any time before or since, America was witnessing class warfare, with working
people taking on ruling class power. Americans were acting out the words of
the old labor anthem The Internationale—“And so begins the final drama/In the
streets and in the fields/We stand unbowed before their armor/We defy their
guns and shields.” From the earliest days of the depression until the start of
World War II, the American economy was defined by what seemed to be con-
stant class struggle, with employers and workers going against each other in
various industries from coast to coast. Even before FDR took office, class pro-
test was evident. In England, Arkansas on January 3d, 1931, over 500 farmers
carrying weapons marched on the business section of town, demanding food
and announcing that they would just take it unless somehow provided to them
at no cost. In Detroit, on July 9th, 500 unemployed men were turned away from
a housing shelter so they began a “riot” that only ended when police were
called in. In the biggest protest of that year, on August 5th, 1500 jobless and
hungry men stormed the plant of the Fruit Growers’ Express Company in
Indiana Harbor, Indiana, demanding that they be given jobs. The company
called the police, who attacked the men with clubs and sent them away.
A year later, working people began to hold “hunger marches,” the most
violent of which took place on March 7th, in Detroit, home of the Ford
Motor Company. As the march ended in nearby Dearborn, Ford called on the
local police, its own security forces, and the fire department to stop the
marchers. The fire department opened its hoses on the 5000 or so demonstra-
tors and police began shooting into the crowd, killing 5 and injuring 50 while
arresting dozens, including some men in their hospital beds. At a memorial
for the marchers killed, over 80,000 attended and listened to a labor band play
“The Internationale.” By comparison, the hunger march on the White House
on Thanksgiving Day, with about 500 protestors demanding food and jobs,
was barely noticed, despite their chants, “We march on starvation/We march
against death/We’re ragged/We’ve nothing but body and breath/From north
and from south/from east and from west/the army of hunger is marching.”
As FDR took office, labor went on the offensive. The First New Deal was
a pro-business program but the NIRA did include Section 7a, which labor saw