Mary Harris Outstanding trade union and public figure Date of Birth: 01.08.1837 Country: Ireland

Biography of Mary Harris Jones

Mary Harris Jones, better known as Mother Jones (August 1, 1837 - November 30, 1930), was an outstanding labor and social activist, and a prominent figure in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union. She was born in the vicinity of Cork, Ireland, and shortly after her father was arrested by the British authorities for his involvement in the Irish republican movement, her family moved to Toronto, Canada, where she spent her youth.

After finishing school, Mary worked as a teacher and a seamstress in the United States. In 1861, she married George Jones, who introduced her to labor activism. There were two significant turning points in Harris' career. The first was the death of her husband and four children during a yellow fever epidemic in Tennessee in 1867. The second was the loss of all her property during the Great Chicago Fire in 1871.

Driven by the necessity to help herself, Harris became involved in the labor movement and joined the Knights of Labor, the predecessor of the IWW, in whose establishment she participated in 1905. The prevailing worldview in the IWW, close to social Darwinism and based on the principle of "every man for himself," influenced Mother Jones' anti-capitalistic individualism.

As a theorist and practitioner of the labor movement nationwide, she was also partially involved in the United Mine Workers (UMW) and the Socialist Party of America. As a labor leader, she began organizing the wives and children of striking workers to participate in demonstrations in their support. In 1903, she organized children working in mines and factories for a "children's crusade," a march from Kensington, Pennsylvania to Oyster Bay, New York, the town where President Theodore Roosevelt lived. Under the slogans "We Want Time to Play!" and "We Want to Go to School!", President Roosevelt refused to meet with the marchers, which brought the issue of child labor to the forefront.

Mother Jones became known as "the most dangerous woman in America." This nickname was given to her by Theodore Roosevelt when she was 83 years old.