Radical History Blog

120 years ago, a different kind of trade union sought to remake the US The IWW Headquarters in Chicago in 1917 The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was founded on this day in 1905.

It was a labour union like no other.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were killed on this day, after what Jean-Paul Sartre called a 'legal lynching' Ethel and Julius Rosenberg in 1951, after being found guilty by a jury. Their sons, Michael and Robert, later established a foundation to support the children of targeted liberal activists.

The Cuban tradition of anticolonialism came late, but strong Lieutenant Maceo's cavalry charge during the Battle of Ceja del Negro Cuba was exceptional during the 1890s.

At a time when imperialism and racism were widely accepted, Cubans fashioned a different form of politics that was both anticolonial and egalitarian.

The founding organisation of British Marxism suffered from ego and factionalism but was an important step for socialism in Britain The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was created on this day in 1881.

And it was... a bit messy.

A prosperous black community was destroyed in Oklahoma today barely a century ago. On 31 May 1921, the Black citizens of Tulsa, Oklahoma, were besieged. For two days, a white mob launched an anti-Black pogrom in the city.

The Mexican Revolution did not end when the fighting stopped in 1920.

In fact, the most radical phase of the Revolution began more than a decade later, when Lázaro Cárdenas was elected President in 1934.

80 years ago, the Allies had won. But imperialism abroad, and fascist elements in Europe, remained.

On this day in 1945, the Allies won the Second World War in Europe.

Interwar Vienna was a centre of radical political experimentation Wohnhausanlage Frederich-Engels Platz in Vienne, built 1930-33. Attribution: Thomas Ledl From 1918 until 1934, Vienna was the most left-wing city in the world.

"Because of Bessie Coleman we have overcome that which was worse than racial barriers. We have overcome the barriers within ourselves and dared to dream." In 1920s America, the airplane was the future.

Since 1775 the Battles of Lexington and Concord have been part of debates about what freedom means in America and what America means to the world...