Joe Hill (October 7, 1879 â€" November 19, 1915), born Joel Emmanuel
Hägglund and also known as Joseph Hillström, was a Swedish-American
labor activist, songwriter, and member of the Industrial Workers of
the World (IWW, familiarly called the "Wobblies"). A native Swedish
speaker, he learned English during the early 1900s, while working
various jobs from New York to San Francisco. Hill, an immigrant worker
frequently facing unemployment and underemployment, became a popular
songwriter and cartoonist for the union. His most famous songs include
"The Preacher and the Slave" (in which he coined the phrase "pie in
the sky"), "The Tramp", "There Is Power in a Union", "The Rebel Girl",
and "Casey Jonesâ€"the Union Scab", which express the harsh and
combative life of itinerant workers, and call for workers to organize
their efforts to improve working conditions.In 1914, John G. Morrison,
a Salt Lake City area grocer and former policeman, and his son were
shot and killed by two men. The same evening, Hill arrived at a
doctor's office with a gunshot wound, and briefly mentioned a fight
over a woman. He refused to explain further, even after he was accused
of the grocery store murders on the basis of his injury. Hill was
convicted of the murders in a controversial trial. Following an
unsuccessful appeal, political debates, and international calls for
clemency from high-profile figures and workers' organizations, Hill
was executed in November 1915. After his death, he was memorialized by
several folk songs. His life and death have inspired books and
poetry.The identity of the woman and the rival who supposedly caused
Hill's injury, though frequently speculated upon, remained mostly
conjecture for nearly a century. William M. Adler's 2011 biography of
Hill presents information about a possible alibi, which was never
introduced at the trial. According to Adler, Hill and his friend and
countryman Otto Appelquist were rivals for the attention of
20-year-old Hilda Erickson, a member of the family with whom the two
men were lodging. In a recently discovered letter, Erickson confirmed
her relationship with the two men and the rivalry between them. The
letter indicates that when she first discovered Hill was injured, he
explained to her that Appelquist had shot him, apparently out of
jealousy.
Hägglund and also known as Joseph Hillström, was a Swedish-American
labor activist, songwriter, and member of the Industrial Workers of
the World (IWW, familiarly called the "Wobblies"). A native Swedish
speaker, he learned English during the early 1900s, while working
various jobs from New York to San Francisco. Hill, an immigrant worker
frequently facing unemployment and underemployment, became a popular
songwriter and cartoonist for the union. His most famous songs include
"The Preacher and the Slave" (in which he coined the phrase "pie in
the sky"), "The Tramp", "There Is Power in a Union", "The Rebel Girl",
and "Casey Jonesâ€"the Union Scab", which express the harsh and
combative life of itinerant workers, and call for workers to organize
their efforts to improve working conditions.In 1914, John G. Morrison,
a Salt Lake City area grocer and former policeman, and his son were
shot and killed by two men. The same evening, Hill arrived at a
doctor's office with a gunshot wound, and briefly mentioned a fight
over a woman. He refused to explain further, even after he was accused
of the grocery store murders on the basis of his injury. Hill was
convicted of the murders in a controversial trial. Following an
unsuccessful appeal, political debates, and international calls for
clemency from high-profile figures and workers' organizations, Hill
was executed in November 1915. After his death, he was memorialized by
several folk songs. His life and death have inspired books and
poetry.The identity of the woman and the rival who supposedly caused
Hill's injury, though frequently speculated upon, remained mostly
conjecture for nearly a century. William M. Adler's 2011 biography of
Hill presents information about a possible alibi, which was never
introduced at the trial. According to Adler, Hill and his friend and
countryman Otto Appelquist were rivals for the attention of
20-year-old Hilda Erickson, a member of the family with whom the two
men were lodging. In a recently discovered letter, Erickson confirmed
her relationship with the two men and the rivalry between them. The
letter indicates that when she first discovered Hill was injured, he
explained to her that Appelquist had shot him, apparently out of
jealousy.
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