The Case:
Amid the stacks at the Wesleyan University Library, a student has found a book emblazoned with the name and address of the legendary anarchist Lucy Parsons.
The biracial black and Native American activist fought in the late 1800s for the rights of the poor and disenfranchised in the face of an increasingly oppressive industrial economic system.
Did this once-feared radical own the manifesto? If so, it would pose a mystery: after Parsons died, police supposedly raided her house and confiscated all of her subversive literature. So how did this book elude them?
History Detectives explores a major labor movement uprising and Parsons’ abiding acts of defiance.
Season 5, Episode 4
Detective:
Elyse Luray
Location:Chicago, Illinois and Middletown, Connecticut
Related Content
Feature:
Technique:
Technique:
Technique:
Video:
Related Links
Explore
-
Related Investigation
Creole Poems
Does this manuscript contain words of love or illegal acts of rebellion?
-
Related Investigation
Koranic School Book
Why does this 200 year old schoolbook contain two translated passages from the Koran?
-
Also in Season 5
Howard Hughes Crash
Was this the instrument that chartered Howard Hughes' near fatal plunge into Beverly Hills?
-
Also with Elyse Luray
Boarding House Flag
Did this flag once save a boarding house from being burned down at the height of the Civil War?
-
Also in Season 5
32' Ford Roadster
Was this car among the popular hot rods that raced out at the dry lakes in the 1930s?
-
Also with Elyse Luray
Luxury Liner Picture Frame
Is this picture frame a piece of the Titanic, Lusitania or neither?
Comments
This is a place for opinions, comments, questions and discussion; a place where viewers of History Detectives can express their points of view and connect with others who value history. We ask that posters be polite and respectful of all opinions. History Detectives reserves the right to delete comments that don’t conform to this conduct. We will not respond to every post, but will do our best to answer specific questions, or address an error.