Mother Jones, a Communist or a Patriot? One could argue, this trailblazer was both.
Mother Jones, a Communist or a Patriot? Was the late founding mother of the modern workday and workers' rights a communist, or was she a lover of the Constitution and an American patriot? I argue this powerful woman was both. She had strong anti-capitalist sentiments and deep reverence for the Constitution and our national heroes. She frequently cited the constitution's protection of individual rights when convincing judges, governors, and senators to release protesters from prison, protect children from cruel labor practices, and put an end to the murder and abuses from big industries. In the end, she used all the resources she could to save the victims of industry warlords--who dehumanized their workers and behaved in ways only seen on plantations in the Deep South and in totalitarian regimes. Historical Context Matters It made sense to defend her rants against capitalism, given her experience with "the system" at the time as it was....