1864 Boston Daily Evening Voice Advocates the Inclusion of Freed Slaves

After the American Civil War came to an end, the 13th Amendment of the Constitution was enacted. This amendment outlawed slavery and made the four million former slaves members of the American workforce. Unfortunately, organized labor was generally not interested in organizing black workers. Of the 130 pro-labor newspapers, one the Boston Daily Evening Voice advocated the inclusion of freed slaves.

The Voice had always taken a progressive stance on the labor movement, advocating from its inception that all working people, including women, must be embraced by organized labor. The Voice claimed that if the situation of American worker improved, then so would the lives of all Americans. It argued that if organized labor were to be successful, it could not be an exclusionary group.

One of the most compelling arguments made by the Voice for the inclusion of freed slaves was that disorganized blacks would hurt the labor movement. These new additions to the workforce would be paid nearly nothing and would be used as strikebreakers. The Voice predicted that the four million freed slaves would eventually be used to bring down the wages for all American workers. The paper claimed that only through unity would this disaster be avoided, and advocated the labor movement to lead the way in accepting blacks as equals.

Although the Voice made very strong arguments for the inclusion of blacks in the Labor Movement, it was alone in this position. Despite the unpopularity of its stance, the Voice refused to back down. Unfortunately this caused most of the Voice’s subscribers and advertisers to abandon it. The Boston Daily Evening Voice was forced to end publication in October of 1867.