Joe Hill was a labor organizer who was executed by a Utah firing squad in 1915. His interesting life story is here. PBS recently did a 90 minute documentary on Joe Hill; the short summary of that documentary contains interesting commentary on the anti-labor stance taken by the LDS Church in the early part of the 20th century, a period during which the Church was transforming itself from a despised, persecuted church into a respected, patriotic church. Thomas G. Alexander, BYU historian, is featured in the documentary. An interview with Prof. Alexander contains some fascinating comments on early 20th-century Utah politics and the Senate hearings on whether Reed Smoot would be allowed to take his seat in the Senate. D. Michael Quinn, formerly a BYU historian, is also featured. The interview with Dr. Quinn comments on politics, religion, and polygamy as the background for understanding Joe Hill's activities in Utah.
These interviews are the first discussion I've seen of the interesting relationship between the LDS Church and the labor movement. Here's a sample from the Quinn interview: LDS church leaders were very American in their attitudes toward the effort to unionize. . . . [L]eadership groups throughout the United States, almost without exception, were anti-union. They regarded unions as destructive of social order. . . . [F]rom a very early period, from the 1870s onward, the LDS church leaders were condemning the labor movement, as an engine of sedition. Church leaders already had a clearly defined anti-union policy and rhetoric.
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