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On This Day in Working Class History

On This Day in Working Class History

19 August 1909: Little Red Song Book published

On This Day in Working Class History · Aug 19, 2026 · 1:34

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On this day, 19 August 1909, the first edition of the revolutionary Industrial Workers of the World union’s Little Red Songbook was published in the US. Spreading faster than many radical texts, these songs were sung by thousands on picket lines across the country in the coming years, including perhaps the most famous, 'Solidarity Forever', written by Ralph Chaplin during a miners' strike in West Virginia in 1912. It also included numerous songs by Joe Hill, the Swedish immigrant IWW activist who was executed by the state of Utah in 1915.
We have made available this book in our online store compiling loads of IWW songs. Proceeds help fund our work: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/books/products/the-big-red-songbook-250-iww-songs

Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.

Episodes: On This Day in Working Class History

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