Mills, Migrants, and the Struggle for the American Dream

On January 12, 1912, 30,000 workers stormed out of the massive textile mills lining the Merrimack River in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The reason – a weekly pay cut of 32 cents. The press expected the strike to fizzle, but in a powderkeg city of tenements and mansions, it became a pitched battle between the mill owners and their stockholders and immigrants from 50 countries struggling for their piece of the American dream.

While becoming a writer, Bruce Watson worked as a factory hand, a journalist, a bartender, an office temp, a Peace Corps volunteer, and an elementary school teacher.
As a frequent contributor to Smithsonian and other major publications, Watson holds a Master’s Degree in American history from the University of Massachusetts and lives with his wife and two children in Western Massachusetts.

Bread and Roses was chosen by the New York Public Library as one of “25 Books to Remember in 2005.”