Revealing Division: The Philadelphia Shirtwaist Strike, the Jewish Community, and Republican Machine Politics, 1909–1910

Abstract

The strike was, among other things, a contest between young immigrant workers who sought to build power and a municipal government that sought to expand its own.3 These opposing goals met with resistance beyond the immediate space of the strike. The actions of young sweatshop workers revealed generational, political, and economic fissures within Philadelphia's Jewish community. Further, the violent response of Mayor John E. Reyburn's administration helped galvanize support for the strike among Philadelphia's club women, suffragists, and female college students. Taking place in distinct spheres of Philadelphia life, the reactions of Reyburn's administration, society women, and members of the Jewish elite to the strike revealed rifts that had already existed in the city.