The Battle of Fort Frick and the Anarchist Assassin
Summary
This episode covers the 1892 Homestead Strike, where Henry Clay Frick deployed Pinkerton agents to break the union at Carnegie Steel, sparking a violent battle. The conflict escalated when anarchist Alexander Berkman assassinated Frick, a "propaganda of the deed" that turned public opinion against the strikers. Consequently, the union was crushed, leading to decades of labor suppression until the 1935 Wagner Act. The hosts analyze how this event shifted the balance of power between capital and labor, drawing parallels to modern technological disruptions.
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