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The IWW's largest following reached 100,000 members, making its greatest impact when it seized control of a large textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912. AFL union membership greatly outnumbered the active IWW contingent in Lawrence, but dramatic actions gave momentum to the IWW, much to the disgust of 'bread and butter' unionists. John Golden, president of the AFL United Textile Workers denounced the IWW action as "revolutionary" and "anarchistic" but failed to wrest the leadership of the strike away from the Wobblies. AFL President [[Samuel Gompers]] denounced the strike as a "class conscious industrial revolution ... a passing event that is not intended to be an organization for the protection of the immediate rights or promotion of the near future interests of the workers."  Radical historians have celebrated the strike. When the state government sent in the militia, the IWW sent in its top firebrands, Haywood, Italian anarchist Carlo Tresca, and his wife [[Elizabeth Gurley Flynn]] later to become a top-echelon Communist. Finally, the strikers won a small pay increase and other meager demands. IWW membership swelled to 10,000 in the Lawrence textile mills, but the union proved unable to bargain on a routine basis for its members.

The IWW's largest following reached 100,000 members, making its greatest impact when it seized control of a large textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912. AFL union membership greatly outnumbered the active IWW contingent in Lawrence, but dramatic actions gave momentum to the IWW, much to the disgust of 'bread and butter' unionists. John Golden, president of the AFL United Textile Workers denounced the IWW action as "revolutionary" and "anarchistic" but failed to wrest the leadership of the strike away from the Wobblies. AFL President [[Samuel Gompers]] denounced the strike as a "class conscious industrial revolution ... a passing event that is not intended to be an organization for the protection of the immediate rights or promotion of the near future interests of the workers."  Radical historians have celebrated the strike. When the state government sent in the militia, the IWW sent in its top firebrands, Haywood, Italian anarchist Carlo Tresca, and his wife [[Elizabeth Gurley Flynn]] later to become a top-echelon Communist. Finally, the strikers won a small pay increase and other meager demands. IWW membership swelled to 10,000 in the Lawrence textile mills, but the union proved unable to bargain on a routine basis for its members.

The IWW is most famous for the execution of IWW member Joe Hill. As Brewton recounts:

The IWW is well known for its many strikes, such as the 1912 Lawrence textile strike and the 1913 Paterson silk strike, of which [[Margaret Sanger]] was actively involved.  At the Paterson silk strike, protesters held up banners proclaiming "''No God and No Master''."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=xtPSCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT388 The Brass Check: A Study of American Journalism], by [[Upton Sinclair]]</ref>  But the IWW is most famous for the execution of IWW member Joe Hill. As Brewton recounts:

{{cquote|In 1914 Salt Lake City former policeman John Morrison and his son Arling were shot dead by gunmen as they were closing their small grocery store for the night.  Before being shot to death, Arling managed to fire the store’s pistol at the intruders.

{{cquote|In 1914 Salt Lake City former policeman John Morrison and his son Arling were shot dead by gunmen as they were closing their small grocery store for the night.  Before being shot to death, Arling managed to fire the store’s pistol at the intruders.