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The military and police have a long history of being deployed against workers in the US. In at least one case firing upon striking coal workers. Companies like
by Pfhreak 6y ago
The military and police have a long history of being deployed against workers in the US. In at least one case firing upon striking coal workers.
Companies like the Pinkertons have been using violence against striking workers for a long time, (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_strike https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_strike ) and are still in operation and used to quell labor organizing today. Amazon hired the Pinkertons, for instance, to spy on their workers.
- psychometry 6y agoWhy police unions are not part of the American labor movement https://theconversation.com/why-police-unions-are-not-part-of-the-american-labor-movement-142538 https://theconversation.com/why-police-unions-are-not-part-o...
- xxpor 6y agoThe modern concept of police essentially started from the strike breakers in the late 1800s
- UncleSlacky 6y agoAnd slave patrols (in the South, at least).
- quietbritishjim 6y agoI thought the origin of the modern concept of police, famously, was the establishment of The Met by Robert Peel in 1829. Is that what you're referring to?
- Pfhreak 6y agoThe concept of uniformed police like we know them definitely originated around that time. The Met concept spread through the US, starting in the Northeast, where it was predominantly used to protect capital (protecting warehouses, merchants, etc.). In the South, similar uniformed police organizations started from the perspective of ensuring slaves didn't run away. (And the stories from the 'police' of that era are truly, truly horrifying.) Over time, the two US concepts merged into the modern US Police organization, and yes, the Met among other things in the mid to late 1800s were part of the ancestry of modern police in America.