San Diego Free Speech Fight (1912)

Thu Feb 08, 1912

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On this day in 1912, the city of San Diego banned giving speeches on the street in an attempt to suppress labor organizing efforts by the IWW, leading to a “Free Speech Fight” involving more than 5,000 IWW members.

Free Speech Fights were struggles over free speech involving the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in the early 20th century, usually involving civil disobedience and direct action. The IWW members, along with other radical labor groups, were often met with suppression (sometimes violent) from local governments and business leaders when trying to give speeches.

The San Diego ordinance directly targeted IWW members, whose street “preaching” was explicitly made illegal. The law was met with immediate civil disobedience by labor activists, and several were immediately arrested. Over five thousand IWW members came to San Diego to protest the free speech limitation, and the city’s jail capacity was strained.

Vigilantes began transporting arrested IWW members to the county border and beating them. One city official who opposed the ordinance was threatened with lynching.

Police indiscriminately used fire hoses on crowds of protesters, including women and children. By the fall of 1912, the protest movement petered out and the Free Speech Fight in San Diego was lost.