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FC 53 The 1919 Boston Police Strike

Here are some items that were mentioned during the 22 August 2013 Fieldstone Common interview with author James Redfearn where we discussed the the Boston Police Strike of 1919.

James Redfearn is the author of the historical novel The Rising at Roxbury Crossing, The Rising at Roxbury Crossing by James Redfearnpublished by Olde Stoney Brook Publishing. It is available for purchase from Amazon.com and other booksellers.

You can learn more about Jim at his website or his Facebook page. He also has a page on Goodreads.com.

During the show we discussed the history of the 1919 strike. While the strike may have been local to Boston, the tensions that led up to it were national. This was a turbulent post-war time that included the rise of the labor movement, the women’s suffrage movement, The Red Scare, high unemployment and soldiers coming home to bleak job prospects.

The Boston Police were working extremely long hours, earning a wage that kept them in poverty, and had an outdated, bug-infested work environment. Add to the mix that much of the police force were Irish Catholics, many of them immigrants. There was great tension James Redfearnbetween them and upper class Boston Brahmin community which wanted to keep them from gaining power.

Jim discussed how he approached researching the historical event and then transformed it into a work of fiction.

Jim donated two copies of The Rising at Roxbury Crossing which were provided as giveaways during the live show to listeners both of whom were from Florida. A big thank you to Jim for his generosity.

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