After securing her first teaching assignment, Mary Harris
permanently left Canada, never to see her family again. Harris
settled in the United States and started to teach at a convent
school in Monroe, Michigan. Although Harris was raised as a Roman
Catholic, she was hired because of her ability to teach secular
subjects. However, after only a few months of teaching, Harris left
Michigan for Chicago in early 1860. She worked as a dressmaker,
putting to use the skills that she had developed while growing
up. Harris did not stay long in Chicago, and before the end of
the year, she had already moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where she
began teaching again.
In the 1850s, Memphis became a growing metropolis, as
railroads expanded and its location made the city a significant
economic center. With this expansion came many immigrants, a large part
of whom were Irish. In Memphis, Harris met George Jones, who she
married in 1861. Since George's job as an iron molder, which a
highly skilled trade, ensured economic stability for him and his
wife, Harris left her job to stay home and raise her family. George
Jones worked for the Union Iron Works, where he participated in
one the early union movements within the United States. Mary Harris
was not yet directly involved in the American labor movement, but
she probably read the pamphlets and journals that George Jones
brought home.
Harris lived a stable life taking care of her four children:
Catherine, Elizabeth, Terence, and Mary. In 1867, however, economic troubles
resulted in cuts in wages and rising unemployment, and a yellow
fever epidemic began to sweep through Memphis. The people who had
the means to escape from the city did so, but the Jones family
had no other alternative but to stay. Yellow fever was a deadly
and fatal disease. Painful death followed a few days of hemorrhaging,
vomiting of blood, jaundice, and liver failure. Many Memphis residents
died, among them all four of Harris's children. Finally, George
Jones also died, leaving Harris all alone. George Jones's union
collected money for Harris. She began to help other people, and
to nurse those who were sick. When the epidemic was over, Harris
left Memphis to start a new life in Chicago.
Relying again on her skills as a dressmaker, Harris established
a business that brought her into frequent contact with the wealthy classes
of Chicago. After only a few years, Harris's life was again disrupted,
as the Chicago Fire of 1871 swept through the city, destroying
her home and all of her belongings. Like other workers, Harris
took part in the rebuilding of the city. During the 1870s, she also
began to be more involved with the labor movement. In 1877, strikes
against the railroads occurred nationwide as workers expressed
their dissatisfaction with wage cutbacks. Sympathy strikes spread,
and were met with violence and repression. During the 1870s
and early 1880s, organizations such as the Knights of Labor started
to gain greater influence by organizing laborers of different trades.
The Working-Men's Party had developed into the Socialist Labor
Party, and even held a few elected offices in government. People
were receptive to new political ideas such as socialism and anarchism.
In Chicago, the anarchist movement was particularly strong, with
a strong following among the immigrant populations. Fighting for
an eight-hour day, labor organizations planned a massive strike
for May 1, 1886. The walkout was peaceful, but during the following
days, violence erupted at Haymarket square. An anarchist meeting
had been taking place peacefully, when someone threw a bomb at
approaching policemen. Police shot into the crowd, killing an undetermined
number of people. The official response to the Haymarket Tragedy
was to convict eight anarchist leaders for their militant rhetoric,
sending some to the gallows. There was no proof that they had been
involved, but the sentence was carried out despite international
protest, and four of the suspects were hanged. Those who remained
in jail were later pardoned by the governor of Illinois. Harris
was definitely influenced by the Haymarket incident, and it fueled
her determination to fight for the working people.
Analysis
In her autobiography, Harris does not go into detail about
her life with George Jones or her children. Clearly, she suffered
from their deaths, and tried to lessen her own pain by relieving
the suffering she saw around her in the slums of Chicago. Her direct
involvement in the labor movement came very gradually, and she
even suggested at one time that her involvement came from the loss
of her children and husband. Harris felt helpless as they died,
particularly since the causes of yellow fever were not known at
the time. Harris felt, however, that the causes of poverty were
known and wanted to combat this exploitation in order to improve
the lives of the laboring masses.
