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Article: The Amesbury-Salisbury strike and the social origins of political nativism in antebellum Massachusetts.
- Article from:
- Journal of Social History
- Article date:
- March 22, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Journal of Social History. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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On May 31, 1852, John P. Derby, newly appointed agent of the Salisbury Manufacturing Company, announced that "luncheon" privilege would be abolished the following day. The so-called "luncheon" privilege, a custom at this woolen factory since it began production in 1823, amounted to two fifteen-minute breaks in the morning and afternoon for all male employees. The next day about one-hundred operatives defiantly left the mills at the usual hour for their morning break. All were discharged for their insubordination, and were soon joined by most employees of the SMC, male and female, in sympathy strikes. Within two weeks Samuel Langley, another newly appointed agent of the ...