The Copper Country Strike of 1913-1914 in Finnish Newspapers

The purpose of this study is to take a closer look at media response in Finland concerning the 1913-14 Michigan Copper Strike and depict how the strike was presented in the Old Country and its main newspapers. I shall take a closer look at the 1913-14 issues of Työmies (social democrat), Helsingin Sanomat (liberal), and Uusi Suometar (conservative) for ideological views of the strike. Furthermore, and in terms of close reading and cross-referencing, how did these newspapers in Finland see the strike and the strike’s outcome? Editorial notes and letters from the public shall both be included. Special attention will be given to the notions of transnational solidarity between Finnish-American and Finnish labor activists.

Radical Verses: Aku Päiviö's Literary Influence on the Finnish Working-Class

Aku Päiviö was one of the most influential voices of the Finnish labor movement in North America—a poet who also wrote plays and novels, and an editor who worked for a variety of newspapers across the United States and Canada. During the height of the Finnish socialist movement from around 1904-1916, Päiviö published a number of poems that identified with the actions and ideologies of the working-class. He also edited for newspapers such as Kansan Lehti and Raivaaja, further extending his literary reach. Despite his prodigious publications and influence, however, little of Päiviö’s writing has been translated into English. This paper celebrates Päiviö’s legacy with some English translations of his poems, specifically those commemorating the 1913-14 Michigan Copper Strike, and illuminates how various thematic and structural relationships in these poems relate to the ideologies and movements of the time.