FoundSF - Recent changes [en]

Oral History: Aaron Peskin

Ccarlsson — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 04:25:28 GMT

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	<iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/aaron-peskin-oral-history-july-16-2026" width="560" height="384" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe>		<iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/aaron-peskin-oral-history-july-16-2026" width="560" height="384" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe>

			'''Full length interview (2 hours)'''

			<iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/peskin-on-airport-runway-fight" width="560" height="384" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe>

	[[category:Oral Histories]] [[category:Power and Money]] [[category:Famous characters]] [[category:North Beach]] [[category:Telegraph Hill]] [[category:East Bay]] [[category:1980s]] [[category:1990s]] [[category:2000s]] [[category:2010s]] [[category:2020s]] [[category:Mayors]]		'''Former Supervisor Aaron Peskin describes the unlikely success of the new Board of Supervisors in derailing the plans of then-Mayor Willie Brown and the rest of the establishment to radically expand the runways for SFO in the SF Bay. (3 minutes)'''

			''Video: Shaping San Francisco, 2026''



			[[category:Oral Histories]] [[category:Power and Money]] [[category:Famous characters]] [[category:North Beach]] [[category:Telegraph Hill]] [[category:East Bay]] [[category:1980s]] [[category:1990s]] [[category:2000s]] [[category:2010s]] [[category:2020s]] [[category:Mayors]] [[category:Transit]]

San Francisco Airport

Ccarlsson — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 04:23:32 GMT

added dedicated clip of Peskin

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	'''Expansion plans as laid out by Mayor Willie Brown in the 1990s, defeated by environmental and political opposition.'''		'''Expansion plans as laid out by Mayor Willie Brown in the 1990s, defeated by environmental and political opposition.'''

			<iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/peskin-on-airport-runway-fight" width="560" height="384" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe>

			'''Former Supervisor Aaron Peskin describes the unlikely success of the new Board of Supervisors in derailing the plans of then-Mayor Willie Brown and the rest of the establishment to radically expand the runways for SFO in the SF Bay.'''

			''Video: Shaping San Francisco, 2026''

	In the early 2000s the city-owned facility completed its most recent expansion, adding a dedicated International Terminal, as well as building a 6-mile automated shuttle train system, and running an [[BART to SFO, Caltrain to Downtown: How One Happened and the Other Didn’t\|extension of the BART train system]] directly to the airport.		In the early 2000s the city-owned facility completed its most recent expansion, adding a dedicated International Terminal, as well as building a 6-mile automated shuttle train system, and running an [[BART to SFO, Caltrain to Downtown: How One Happened and the Other Didn’t\|extension of the BART train system]] directly to the airport.

Oral History: Aaron Peskin

Ccarlsson — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 06:43:47 GMT

Created page with "''' Oral History ''' ''Interviewed by Chris Carlsson for Shaping San Francisco on July 16, 2026.'' <iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/aaron-peskin-oral-history-july-16-2026" width="560" height="384" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe> category:Oral Histories category:Power and Money category:Famous characters c..."

New page

''' Oral History '''

''Interviewed by Chris Carlsson for Shaping San Francisco on July 16, 2026.''

<iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/aaron-peskin-oral-history-july-16-2026" width="560" height="384" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[[category:Oral Histories]] [[category:Power and Money]] [[category:Famous characters]] [[category:North Beach]] [[category:Telegraph Hill]] [[category:East Bay]] [[category:1980s]] [[category:1990s]] [[category:2000s]] [[category:2010s]] [[category:2020s]] [[category:Mayors]]

Workingmen’s Party of California

Ccarlsson — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 20:16:01 GMT

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	26. Bryce, ''American Commonwealth'', 2:44 1, 445.		26. Bryce, ''American Commonwealth'', 2:44 1, 445.

			<hr>

			'''Other articles on the 1877 Workingmen's Party and the heated politics of that time:'''

			[[Communards, San Francisco, and Chinese Labor\|Communards, San Francisco, and Chinese Labor]] / [[1877 unemployed in the sandlots\|1877 unemployed in the sandlots]] / [[WASP: Bipartisan Consensus and the Rise of the Workingmen's Party of California\|WASP: Bipartisan Consensus and the Rise of the Workingmen's Party of California]] / [[Workingmen’s Party of California\|Workingmen’s Party of California]] / [[The Workingmen’s Party & The Denis Kearney Agitation\|The Workingmen’s Party & The Denis Kearney Agitation]]

	<hr>		<hr>

WASP: Bipartisan Consensus and the Rise of the Workingmen's Party of California

Ccarlsson — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 20:15:30 GMT

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			'''Other articles on the 1877 Workingmen's Party and the heated politics of that time:'''

			[[Communards, San Francisco, and Chinese Labor\|Communards, San Francisco, and Chinese Labor]] / [[1877 unemployed in the sandlots\|1877 unemployed in the sandlots]] / [[WASP: Bipartisan Consensus and the Rise of the Workingmen's Party of California\|WASP: Bipartisan Consensus and the Rise of the Workingmen's Party of California]] / [[Workingmen’s Party of California\|Workingmen’s Party of California]] / [[The Workingmen’s Party & The Denis Kearney Agitation\|The Workingmen’s Party & The Denis Kearney Agitation]]



	[[category:media]] [[category:1870s]] [[category:1880s]] [[category:Power and Money]] [[category:Racism]] [[category:Chinese]] [[category:dissent]] [[category:labor]] [[category:Irish]]		[[category:media]] [[category:1870s]] [[category:1880s]] [[category:Power and Money]] [[category:Racism]] [[category:Chinese]] [[category:dissent]] [[category:labor]] [[category:Irish]]

1877 unemployed in the sandlots

Ccarlsson — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 20:15:08 GMT

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	''Photo: from the collection of Thomas P. Woodward, courtesy Society of California Pioneers''		''Photo: from the collection of Thomas P. Woodward, courtesy Society of California Pioneers''

			'''Other articles on the 1877 Workingmen's Party and the heated politics of that time:'''

			[[Communards, San Francisco, and Chinese Labor\|Communards, San Francisco, and Chinese Labor]] / [[1877 unemployed in the sandlots\|1877 unemployed in the sandlots]] / [[WASP: Bipartisan Consensus and the Rise of the Workingmen's Party of California\|WASP: Bipartisan Consensus and the Rise of the Workingmen's Party of California]] / [[Workingmen’s Party of California\|Workingmen’s Party of California]] / [[The Workingmen’s Party & The Denis Kearney Agitation\|The Workingmen’s Party & The Denis Kearney Agitation]]

	[[The Workingmen’s Party & The Dennis Kearney Agitation \| Prev. Document]] [[BURNETTE G. HASKELL\|Next Document]]		[[The Workingmen’s Party & The Dennis Kearney Agitation \| Prev. Document]] [[BURNETTE G. HASKELL\|Next Document]]

Communards, San Francisco, and Chinese Labor

Ccarlsson — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 20:14:30 GMT

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	20. “Ah Hea Lea Speaks,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, September 26, 1874. Reprinted in Woodhull and Claflin’s ''Weekly'', October 17, 1874. “Chinese Labor,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, October 31, 1874.<br>		20. “Ah Hea Lea Speaks,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, September 26, 1874. Reprinted in Woodhull and Claflin’s ''Weekly'', October 17, 1874. “Chinese Labor,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, October 31, 1874.<br>
	21. “Higher or Lower,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 22, 1875. “The Chinese Question,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 29, 1875.		21. “Higher or Lower,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 22, 1875. “The Chinese Question,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 29, 1875.

			'''Other articles on the 1877 Workingmen's Party and the heated politics of that time:'''

			[[Communards, San Francisco, and Chinese Labor\|Communards, San Francisco, and Chinese Labor]] / [[1877 unemployed in the sandlots\|1877 unemployed in the sandlots]] / [[WASP: Bipartisan Consensus and the Rise of the Workingmen's Party of California\|WASP: Bipartisan Consensus and the Rise of the Workingmen's Party of California]] / [[Workingmen’s Party of California\|Workingmen’s Party of California]] / [[The Workingmen’s Party & The Denis Kearney Agitation\|The Workingmen’s Party & The Denis Kearney Agitation]]

	<hr>		<hr>

The Workingmen’s Party & The Denis Kearney Agitation

Ccarlsson — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 20:13:13 GMT

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	[[Image:Tours-labor.gif\|link= Shanghaiing]] [[Shanghaiing\| Continue Labor History Tour]]		[[Image:Tours-labor.gif\|link= Shanghaiing]] [[Shanghaiing\| Continue Labor History Tour]]

			'''Other articles on the 1877 Workingmen's Party and the heated politics of that time:'''

			[[Communards, San Francisco, and Chinese Labor\|Communards, San Francisco, and Chinese Labor]] / [[1877 unemployed in the sandlots\|1877 unemployed in the sandlots]] / [[WASP: Bipartisan Consensus and the Rise of the Workingmen's Party of California\|WASP: Bipartisan Consensus and the Rise of the Workingmen's Party of California]] / [[Workingmen’s Party of California\|Workingmen’s Party of California]]


	[[Eight hour day movement \| Prev. document]][[1877 unemployed in the sandlots \| Next document]]		[[Eight hour day movement \| Prev. document]][[1877 unemployed in the sandlots \| Next document]]

Women in Printing

Ccarlsson — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 04:46:47 GMT

added link

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	The number of women in printing grew steadily throughout the last decades of the 19th century, not only brought in as strike breakers, but they were also skilled, and could do the same work as men but for lower wages. More women established their own journals and printing companies, and hired women printers. Two outstanding such women were Amanda M. Slocum and Marietta Lois Stowe.		The number of women in printing grew steadily throughout the last decades of the 19th century, not only brought in as strike breakers, but they were also skilled, and could do the same work as men but for lower wages. More women established their own journals and printing companies, and hired women printers. Two outstanding such women were Amanda M. Slocum and Marietta Lois Stowe.

	Amanda Slocum was a Spiritualist, suffragist, editor and master printer. She and her husband William Slocum published ''Common Sense'' in 1874, a journal of Spiritualism, suffrage, temperance and other women’s issues. Hiring women and paying them equal wages as men was her plan, but ''Common Sense'' failed financially after just one year. The revolutionary William Slocum blamed its demise on the liberal groups they were addressing, saying the Spiritualists, atheists, suffragists, and social reformers were so intolerant of each other they would not support the same newspaper. In the meantime, the Slocums had acquired the Woman’s Publishing Company (started by Emily Pitts Stevens), a large steam-printing establishment that expanded their printing empire and proved extremely profitable. The Slocums soon divorced, however, and Amanda went on to become a successful master printer with her own imprint.		Amanda Slocum was a Spiritualist, suffragist, editor and master printer. [[Communards, San Francisco, and Chinese Labor\|She and her husband William Slocum published ''Common Sense'']] in 1874, a journal of Spiritualism, suffrage, temperance and other women’s issues. Hiring women and paying them equal wages as men was her plan, but ''Common Sense'' failed financially after just one year. The revolutionary William Slocum blamed its demise on the liberal groups they were addressing, saying the Spiritualists, atheists, suffragists, and social reformers were so intolerant of each other they would not support the same newspaper. In the meantime, the Slocums had acquired the Woman’s Publishing Company (started by Emily Pitts Stevens), a large steam-printing establishment that expanded their printing empire and proved extremely profitable. The Slocums soon divorced, however, and Amanda went on to become a successful master printer with her own imprint.

	Marietta Lois Stowe was another exceptional woman arriving in San Francisco ready to change society and advance the rights of women. Outspoken on humanitarian issues and women’s rights, she organized political rallies, was the second president of the California Woman’s Suffrage Association, ran for Governor of California in1882, and helped form the Equal Rights Party in 1884, becoming its vice presidential candidate. She started a newspaper in 1881, ''Woman’s Herald of Industry and Social Science Coöperator''. Disgusted with her incompetent male printer, she started her own printing company, and then a school for typesetters. Hiring mostly women, she soon boasted that hers was the only newspaper in the country entirely edited and printed by women, except for the presswork.		Marietta Lois Stowe was another exceptional woman arriving in San Francisco ready to change society and advance the rights of women. Outspoken on humanitarian issues and women’s rights, she organized political rallies, was the second president of the California Woman’s Suffrage Association, ran for Governor of California in1882, and helped form the Equal Rights Party in 1884, becoming its vice presidential candidate. She started a newspaper in 1881, ''Woman’s Herald of Industry and Social Science Coöperator''. Disgusted with her incompetent male printer, she started her own printing company, and then a school for typesetters. Hiring mostly women, she soon boasted that hers was the only newspaper in the country entirely edited and printed by women, except for the presswork.

Communards, San Francisco, and Chinese Labor

Ccarlsson — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 04:44:18 GMT

Category:Book Excerpts

Ccarlsson — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 04:41:30 GMT

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	[[Copaganda: The Recall of DA Chesa Boudin\|Copaganda: The Recall of DA Chesa Boudin]]		[[Copaganda: The Recall of DA Chesa Boudin\|Copaganda: The Recall of DA Chesa Boudin]]

			<hr>

			[[Image:Deconstructing-settler-socialism-cover-240px.jpg\|200px]]

			''Excerpted from the chapter "On the Sandlot" in ''Deconstructing Settler Socialism: Anarchism and the Internationals in the Wild West'', published by Historical Seditions, 2025''

			[[Communards, San Francisco, and Chinese Labor\|Communards, San Francisco, and Chinese Labor]]

	<hr>		<hr>

Communards, San Francisco, and Chinese Labor

Ccarlsson — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 04:39:00 GMT

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	''by Gia Vogerl''		''by Gia Vogerl''

	~~''An excerpt from the chapter "On the Sandlot" in ''Deconstructing Settler Socialism: Anarchism and the Internationals in the Wild West'', published by Historical Seditions, 2025''~~

	[[Image:Common-Sense-Masthead 081836.jpg]]		[[Image:Common-Sense-Masthead 081836.jpg]]
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	From its founding and through the split in the International Workingmen’s Association, the local English-language American Section stood firmly against Chinese labor and immigration. Local French and German Sections joined them. This stance, however, placed the American Section at odds with the majority of “Yankee Radicals” affiliated with the International elsewhere, particularly those overlapping with Spiritualist circles. It is thus quite notable that for a brief period starting in the mid-1870s, some San Francisco internationalists joined Healey in turning away from demonizing Chinese workers. Notably, a number of Spiritualist radicals continued their local activity and moved to oppose racial exclusion, aligning them with their East Coast brethren. Perhaps continued discourse at ongoing workingmen’s Lyceums on how to achieve workers’ emancipation helped soften participants’ racist views.		From its founding and through the split in the International Workingmen’s Association, the local English-language American Section stood firmly against Chinese labor and immigration. Local French and German Sections joined them. This stance, however, placed the American Section at odds with the majority of “Yankee Radicals” affiliated with the International elsewhere, particularly those overlapping with Spiritualist circles. It is thus quite notable that for a brief period starting in the mid-1870s, some San Francisco internationalists joined Healey in turning away from demonizing Chinese workers. Notably, a number of Spiritualist radicals continued their local activity and moved to oppose racial exclusion, aligning them with their East Coast brethren. Perhaps continued discourse at ongoing workingmen’s Lyceums on how to achieve workers’ emancipation helped soften participants’ racist views.

			[[Image:William-N-Slocum 081911.gif]]

			'''William Neill Slocum, co-publisher of ''Common Sense'''''

	One speaker and participant at the Dashaway Hall “International Workingmen” meetings was William Neill Slocum, co-publisher of ''Common Sense'' with his wife Amanda. W.N. was journalist by trade, an old Republican Spiritualist and abolitionist who broke with the Republican party as it catered increasingly to business interests. Alongside bits of Spiritualist discourse and reports on Spiritualist meetings, ''Common Sense’s'' pages were filled with reports and articles pertaining to temperance, free thought, and anti-monopoly politics. The paper’s title referred to Thomas Paine’s famous revolutionary pamphlet. The Slocums’ paper provided frequent accounts of meetings by San Francisco Lyceums and various interconnected reform movements.(12)		One speaker and participant at the Dashaway Hall “International Workingmen” meetings was William Neill Slocum, co-publisher of ''Common Sense'' with his wife Amanda. W.N. was journalist by trade, an old Republican Spiritualist and abolitionist who broke with the Republican party as it catered increasingly to business interests. Alongside bits of Spiritualist discourse and reports on Spiritualist meetings, ''Common Sense’s'' pages were filled with reports and articles pertaining to temperance, free thought, and anti-monopoly politics. The paper’s title referred to Thomas Paine’s famous revolutionary pamphlet. The Slocums’ paper provided frequent accounts of meetings by San Francisco Lyceums and various interconnected reform movements.(12)
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	Aside from Ah Hea Lea, though, there is no evidence of actual conversations with Chinese people. Given Ah’s own proactive outreach, they may have simply relied on Chinese people coming to them rather than actively reaching out. The conversation about Chinese labor was shifting, but it did not by-and-large include actual Chinese people. By the time of the fateful [[1877 unemployed in the sandlots\|Sandlot rallies of 1877]], ex-internationalists turned Workingmen’s Party agitators did not go much further in public agitation than simply leaving Chinese people out of their denunciations of railroad barons while insisting they weren’t there to hold anti-Chinese meetings. Certainly a notable shift from earlier in the decade, but far from adequate to prevent the [[The Workingmen’s Party & The Denis Kearney Agitation\|catastrophe that unfolded]].		Aside from Ah Hea Lea, though, there is no evidence of actual conversations with Chinese people. Given Ah’s own proactive outreach, they may have simply relied on Chinese people coming to them rather than actively reaching out. The conversation about Chinese labor was shifting, but it did not by-and-large include actual Chinese people. By the time of the fateful [[1877 unemployed in the sandlots\|Sandlot rallies of 1877]], ex-internationalists turned Workingmen’s Party agitators did not go much further in public agitation than simply leaving Chinese people out of their denunciations of railroad barons while insisting they weren’t there to hold anti-Chinese meetings. Certainly a notable shift from earlier in the decade, but far from adequate to prevent the [[The Workingmen’s Party & The Denis Kearney Agitation\|catastrophe that unfolded]].





	<big>'''Notes'''</big>		<big>'''Notes'''</big>
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	20. “Ah Hea Lea Speaks,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, September 26, 1874. Reprinted in Woodhull and Claflin’s ''Weekly'', October 17, 1874. “Chinese Labor,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, October 31, 1874.<br>		20. “Ah Hea Lea Speaks,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, September 26, 1874. Reprinted in Woodhull and Claflin’s ''Weekly'', October 17, 1874. “Chinese Labor,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, October 31, 1874.<br>
	21. “Higher or Lower,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 22, 1875. “The Chinese Question,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 29, 1875.		21. “Higher or Lower,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 22, 1875. “The Chinese Question,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 29, 1875.

			<hr>

			[[Image:Deconstructing-settler-socialism-cover-240px.jpg]]

			''Excerpted from the chapter "On the Sandlot" in ''Deconstructing Settler Socialism: Anarchism and the Internationals in the Wild West'', published by Historical Seditions, 2025''


	[[category:Labor]] [[category:French]] [[category:Chinese]] [[category:Dissent]] [[category:Women]] [[category:1870s]] [[category:Book Excerpts]] [[category:Newspapers]] [[category:Media]]		[[category:Labor]] [[category:French]] [[category:Chinese]] [[category:Dissent]] [[category:Women]] [[category:1870s]] [[category:Book Excerpts]] [[category:Newspapers]] [[category:Media]]

File:Deconstructing-settler-socialism-cover-240px.jpg

Ccarlsson — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 04:37:41 GMT

Ccarlsson uploaded File:Deconstructing-settler-socialism-cover-240px.jpg

New page

File:Phil.jpg

Ccarlsson — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 04:33:13 GMT

Ccarlsson uploaded File:Phil.jpg

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The Workingmen’s Party & The Denis Kearney Agitation

Ccarlsson — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 04:32:32 GMT

added cartoon

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	By the end of 1880 the Workingmen's Party had collapsed and disappeared. It left behind a reliable and strong labor vote in San Francisco, which for many years had a large influence in state politics, although not so large as the railroad industry which basically owned it all lock, stock and barrel.		By the end of 1880 the Workingmen's Party had collapsed and disappeared. It left behind a reliable and strong labor vote in San Francisco, which for many years had a large influence in state politics, although not so large as the railroad industry which basically owned it all lock, stock and barrel.

			[[Image:Thomas Nast communist skeleton cartoon 1880 081748.jpg]]

			'''Thomas Nast cartoon from 1880 declaiming the communist threat embodied in "Kearneyism".'''

	<hr>		<hr>

File:Thomas Nast communist skeleton cartoon 1880 081748.jpg

Ccarlsson — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 04:30:26 GMT

Ccarlsson uploaded File:Thomas Nast communist skeleton cartoon 1880 081748.jpg

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File:William-N-Slocum 081911.gif

Ccarlsson — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 04:29:00 GMT

Ccarlsson uploaded File:William-N-Slocum 081911.gif

New page

Communards, San Francisco, and Chinese Labor

Ccarlsson — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 04:27:48 GMT

Created page with "''' Historical Essay ''' ''by Gia Vogerl'' ''An excerpt from the chapter "On the Sandlot" in ''Deconstructing Settler Socialism: Anarchism and the Internationals in the Wild West'', published by Historical Seditions, 2025'' Image:Common-Sense-Masthead 081836.jpg '''Radical Spiritualist newspaper of the 1870s.''' The historian Hubert Perrier noted that many francophone Sections [of the..."

New page

''' Historical Essay '''

''by Gia Vogerl''

''An excerpt from the chapter "On the Sandlot" in ''Deconstructing Settler Socialism: Anarchism and the Internationals in the Wild West'', published by Historical Seditions, 2025''

[[Image:Common-Sense-Masthead 081836.jpg]]

'''Radical Spiritualist newspaper of the 1870s.'''

The historian Hubert Perrier noted that many francophone Sections [of the Workingmen's Party of the United States] focused much of their energy on supporting refugees in the aftermath of the Paris Commune. San Francisco’s French Section did not remain neutral, but prisoner solidarity work nevertheless sustained their activity in later years. Many francophone Sections sent money to former Communards and served as a stopover or even final destination for exiles. East Coast ports provided the easiest entry for Communards who had escaped into exile, some of whom eventually took the railroad across the continent to try life in San Francisco. Benjamin Flotte arrived through this route, as did former gold miner Émile Bée who returned to California after the Commune. Yet San Francisco internationalists went a step further.(6)

Numerous Communards were imprisoned on the Pacific penal colony at New Caledonia, near New Zealand. San Francisco became a hub as the first friendly port of call for those who escaped on passing American ships. Escapees thus followed the wake of Bakunin’s transpacific flight from Siberia. Upon arrival they could expect material support and lavish public receptions by the local International. Henri Rochefort, François Jourde, and Paschal Grousset received banquets in their honor upon their arrival in Spring of 1874. One hundred and forty “French Republicans” attended one such banquet on May 25. A standing committee was established to prepare welcome receptions for all future escapees from the prison islands.(7)

Present at one of these banquets was Charles Caron, a founding member of New Orleans’ International French Section. That Section apparently suffered a split after Caron and his associates passionately argued for creating a socialist colony. Caron’s visit to San Francisco may have been intended to strengthen connections with old Icarians like J.R. Lafaix who remained active in the city. Icarians would later build on these connections to establish a new colony in California.(8)

Commemorations of the Commune provided continuing visibility for the local International. An 1875 anniversary banquet reported in local newspapers and the radical Spiritualist paper ''Common Sense'' helped inspire a new burst of activity. The March 18 celebration was filled with multi-lingual speeches, bringing together “French, Americans, and a few Germans.” The banquet helped spark a revival of internationalist activity. A month later, Dashaway Hall hosted the first in a series of weekly meetings to “discuss the relations of Capital and Labor, employers and employed, laws affecting production and exchange, etc.” under the auspices of the “International Workingmen.” B. F. French, a member of the American Section’s executive committee in 1872, took the chair of the first meeting and participated in the followups. After several meetings, attendees resolved to create a “Society for the Promotion of Political and Social Reform” to carry out public debates; French was elected first vice-president.(9)

<big>'''Consensus Challenged'''</big>

From its founding and through the split in the International Workingmen’s Association, the local English-language American Section stood firmly against Chinese labor and immigration. Local French and German Sections joined them. This stance, however, placed the American Section at odds with the majority of “Yankee Radicals” affiliated with the International elsewhere, particularly those overlapping with Spiritualist circles. It is thus quite notable that for a brief period starting in the mid-1870s, some San Francisco internationalists joined Healey in turning away from demonizing Chinese workers. Notably, a number of Spiritualist radicals continued their local activity and moved to oppose racial exclusion, aligning them with their East Coast brethren. Perhaps continued discourse at ongoing workingmen’s Lyceums on how to achieve workers’ emancipation helped soften participants’ racist views.

One speaker and participant at the Dashaway Hall “International Workingmen” meetings was William Neill Slocum, co-publisher of ''Common Sense'' with his wife Amanda. W.N. was journalist by trade, an old Republican Spiritualist and abolitionist who broke with the Republican party as it catered increasingly to business interests. Alongside bits of Spiritualist discourse and reports on Spiritualist meetings, ''Common Sense’s'' pages were filled with reports and articles pertaining to temperance, free thought, and anti-monopoly politics. The paper’s title referred to Thomas Paine’s famous revolutionary pamphlet. The Slocums’ paper provided frequent accounts of meetings by San Francisco Lyceums and various interconnected reform movements.(12)

Amanda’s close involvement with ''Common Sense'' was part of a [[Women in Printing|broad movement of women publishers and typographers]]. Women participated in the printing trade since its inception in the 15th century, even as their vital role was often overshadowed by male counterparts. Family-run print shops required involvement from wives and daughters of the men named on the marquee. They participated in all steps of the process from typesetting to editorializing. Widows commonly ran such enterprises after their husbands died. Independent-minded women found ways to learn the trade despite exclusion from formal apprenticeship systems. One journal estimated that half of working compositors in US towns were women in the mid-nineteenth century. Clara Dixon produced her first political pamphlet using a “toy typesetting device” and later published anarchist newspapers in San Francisco in the early 1890s. Early feminist movements were buoyed by women-run periodicals.(13)

During San Francisco’s early years, the succession of all-male typographical unions forbade contract shops from hiring women. Patriarchal chauvinism was often articulated through economic excuses; “feminizing” the profession would lead to lower wages. During labor disputes owners often took advantage of these fears by hiring white women to set type. In response, labor-minded white women joined with sympathetic male counterparts to demand union membership and “equal pay for equal work” as a means to short-circuit employers’ threats. A Women’s Typographical Union was founded in New York in 1868. The next year the International Typographical Union’s convention lifted its outright ban on women’s membership, though the aforementioned dispute over Susan B. Anthony’s seating at the National Labor Union underlines the vitriolic debates involved. Four years later the ITU recommended all locals admit women on an equal basis, yet inclusion was merely optional for another decade. Many locals, including San Francisco’s, persisted in excluding white women until the ITU formalized gender inclusion in its constitution by the 1880s. A pronounced gender-pay gap persisted outside of union shops. Notably, despite similar arguments made for including non-white members, racial inclusion remained off the table for the time being.(14)

The white women who moved west seeking greater autonomy for themselves included many typographers. San Francisco emerged as a notable center. The city’s first women-run and typeset literary magazine, ''The Hesperian'', was founded in 1858. Lisle Lester took over editorship in 1863 and renamed the publication to ''Pacific Monthly''. In 1865 she attempted to form a Women’s Typographical Union but the effort failed and the ''Pacific Monthly'' folded in 1868. Women were only able to obtain work at low-paying non-union shops. Continued exclusion prompted Agnes Peterson to found the Women’s Co-Operative Printing Union the same year as the ''Pacific Monthly'' ended. The WCPU put out a weekly newspaper and provided job-printing services for a wide-array of books, pamphlets, legal briefs, and more.(15)

[[Image:Womenprinting grayscale.jpg]]

''Image from ''West Coast Journal, May 18, 1870'' sourced at Bancroft Library''

Flora Chaney and her then-husband William (aka Dr. W.H. Chaney) were another couple closely associated with ''Common Sense''. Both Flora and William were agents for the paper, “authorized to receive subscriptions.” They were prominent lecturers in and beyond San Francisco’s reform scene and Flora was noted as a talented public-speaking instructor. In early 1875 the Slocum’s purchased the office and printing equipment of a Women’s Pacific Coast Publishing Company founded by a former leader of the WCPU. Amanda and Flora ran the shop together, maintaining it as a “women’s office.”(16)

Later that same year, Flora was pregnant. In June she shot herself in a failed suicide attempt after William rejected becoming a father. According to a contemporary newspaper account, he attempted to convince her to abort the child. She refused. William later claimed the child wasn’t his. He insisted he was in fact sterile and that Flora had other lovers, perhaps within their broad Spiritualist community of Free Love supporters. William soon distanced himself from those local Spiritualists that promoted Free Love and had nothing to do with raising Flora’s child. Flora was taken into the Slocum home, where she gave birth to a son who would become one of San Francisco’s most famous radicals: [[JACK LONDON|Jack London]].(17)

Alongside the Slocums, ''Common Sense’s'' management included one Albert Kendrick. During the paper’s run Albert married the Medium and close associate of Victoria Woodhull, Laura Cuppy Smith (who took Albert’s surname). Laura was a trance speaker who first arrived in San Francisco in the 1860s and was one of the first prominent women orators in the city. Notices and accounts of her speeches were frequent matter for ''Common Sense''. She was also one of three trance speakers sent to present the first petition for women’s suffrage to the California state legislature. Laura traveled to the 1872 Equal Rights Convention that nominated Woodhull for president and the next year defended Woodhull in court from obscenity charges. She has been described as Woodhull’s “only intimate friend,” though Woodhull later turned her back on Laura.(18)

Laura was a driving force in San Francisco internationalists’ softening of their previously bitter Sinophobic stance. Unwavering defense of her firm belief in universal equality led many former associates to later reject her, sometimes leaving Laura a “radical without a following because she fought injustice everywhere.” When she passed away in 1882 following a stroke at the age of 49, Boston anarchist Benjamin Tucker eulogized her with a glowing obituary that declared “Liberty has lost an apostle – one of her most tried and true defenders, one of her most courageous soldiers, one of her most ardent advocates, one of her most devoted martyrs.” She first left California in the early 1870s; whether she participated in the founding of the local American Section is unclear. Yet when she returned to San Francisco in 1874 to find “labor agitation… coming to the front,” she “plunged into it, body and soul.” Laura brought with her the ideals of cross-racial solidarity in debates over Chinese immigration that characterized some East Coast radicals, Spiritualists in particular. While many other agitators were denouncing Chinese workers, Tucker claimed she “championed” them.(19)

Discourse on the “Chinese Question” was relatively frequent in ''Common Sense''. Some correspondents parroted common Sinophobic talking points but were usually met with rebuttals. In Fall 1874, a comment negatively prophesying that Chinese people were the “future workers of America” was met with a reply by an apparent Chinese slippermaker named Ah Hea Lea. Ah Hea Lea claimed to favor the rest of ''Common Sense’s'' radical material and asserted bluntly that Chinese people were not to blame for the societal ills the paper campaigned against. His letter was paired with an editorial comment admitting that Chinese people had a “natural right” to come but that it was also perfectly natural for their arrival to face opposition. Whichever Slocum penned that reply nevertheless admitted benefits to Chinese labor, as well as “improvidence” on the part of white workingmen, concluding that “it remains an open question whether it would not be better for our own people to discourage the importation and employment of Chinese.” The columns of ''Common Sense'' were declared “open to all honest, earnest expression of opinion on this subject, on either side.” Ah Hea Lea wrote another reply, asserting that the “improvidence” attributed to white workingmen in the form of drinking and frivolous purchases was in fact an integral if potentially harmful aspect of the American economy. He once again came to the defense of Chinese laborers, insisting they were the only ones in the state willing to do all the hard “work that must be done.”(20)

Following Ah Hea Lea’s submissions and the letter from Healey was an ongoing exchange for and against the presence Chinese workers in back-to-back May 1875 issues just prior to the paper’s end. A “P” wrote to ''Common Sense'' to decry what he saw as a link between “Asiatic Labor” and “the rapid accumulation of capital in the hands of a few.” Yet P did at least allow that “we need not… entertain the idea that he can be driven from our shores… this is a free country ‘for the oppressed of all nations.’” P instead argued for white labor to “make a new departure” toward (segregated) cooperative systems. Dr. Pilkington wrote a reply arguing that:

<blockquote>Prejudice against the Chinese is not confined to the Irish alone, but seems to prevail in proportion to the ignorance of the masses, and to some extent, amongst a more intelligent portion, some of whom take the ground that this country belongs to the white man alone, supposing that because they are whiter than some of their neighbors, this entitles them to a preference, merit or no merit.</blockquote>

By taking on lower paying jobs manufacturing goods previously imported from elsewhere, Pilkington asserted that Chinese workers made possible a plethora of new industries that also provided higher-waged employment to white men. Pilkington also praised what he saw as Chinese tendencies toward “communistic and co-operative” living and labor that, like Reclus, he thought “far more” pronounced “than white men.”(21)

The shifting views of San Francisco’s internationalists regarding Chinese labor by no means evaded orientalist or paternalistic tropes and were often articulated through a settler colonialist developmental logic. It is also doubtful that they had especially broad reach outside the pages of Common Sense and English-language Lyceum debating circles. Some notable advocates of cross-racial solidarity like Pat Healey labored for wages in trades alongside numerous Chinese counterparts, but many vocal advocates could hardly be called “working-class.” Far more local white tradespeople were likely members of the contemporary anti-coolie clubs than attendees of the “Lyceum for Self Culture” or meetings of the Society for the Promotion of Political and Social Reform. The transformation may not have translated into the International’s French and German Sections; the latter was the largest local Section upon the Tenth Ward International’s merger into the Workingmen’s Party. A quarterly broadside circulated by the Tenth Ward council in 1875 noted that San Francisco’s German and French Sections (1 and 2) were attempting to mediate conflicts occurring in New York Sections, but mentioned that the American Section (3) “takes no part in this.” While all of the Sections would ultimately join the new Party, a breach could perhaps have opened between San Francisco’s local groups. Continuing anti-Chinese racism by SF’s German Workingmen’s Party members will be discussed shortly.(22)

''Common Sense'' seems to have folded after May 1875, leaving a gap in the ability to track the evolution of this discourse. No other local papers provided detailed accounts of the local International during this late period or of the early days of the Workingmen’s Party of the United States. The limited correspondence available with the central office in New York during the middle of the decade is likewise silent on the matter. A challenge to the prior racist consensus of the local International was nevertheless clearly emerging from the Spiritualist milieu within San Francisco’s American Section.

Aside from Ah Hea Lea, though, there is no evidence of actual conversations with Chinese people. Given Ah’s own proactive outreach, they may have simply relied on Chinese people coming to them rather than actively reaching out. The conversation about Chinese labor was shifting, but it did not by-and-large include actual Chinese people. By the time of the fateful [[1877 unemployed in the sandlots|Sandlot rallies of 1877]], ex-internationalists turned Workingmen’s Party agitators did not go much further in public agitation than simply leaving Chinese people out of their denunciations of railroad barons while insisting they weren’t there to hold anti-Chinese meetings. Certainly a notable shift from earlier in the decade, but far from adequate to prevent the [[The Workingmen’s Party & The Denis Kearney Agitation|catastrophe that unfolded]].

<big>'''Notes'''</big>

6. Perrier, “L’Union républicaine,” 216. [https://maitron.fr/spip.php? article135920 Michel Cordillot, FLOTTE Benjamin, Le Maitron] 
7. Perrier, “L’Union républicaine,” 216. [https://maitron.fr/spip.php? article135920 Michel Cordillot, FLOTTE Benjamin, Le Maitron], Perrier, “L’Union républicaine,” 222. ''Los Angeles Herald'', May 26, 1874. ''Marysville Daily Appeal'', May 26, 1874. “French Republican Banquet,” ''Sacramento Daily Union'', May 26, 1874. Michel Cordillot. 
8. Michel Cordillot [https://maitron.fr/spip.php?article159709 “CARON Charles,”] Le Maitron, [https://maitron.fr/spip.php?article159593 “LAFAIX Jean-René”] Le Maitron 
9. “Signs of the Times,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, March 27, 1875. ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, April 17, 1875. “Meeting of Working Men,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, April 24, 1875. “Workingmen’s Meeting,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 1, 1878. “Meeting of Workingmen,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 8, 1875. “Meetings of Workingmen,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 15, 1875. “Meeting of Reformers,” May 22, 1875. B. F. French would remain active in Socialist causes in San Francisco and Los Angeles at least to 1901, later participating in the Bellamy inspired “Nationalist Movement” and the Socialist Party. 
12. “Workingmen’s Meeting,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 1, 1875. 
13. Overbeck, ''The Tramp Printers'', 91-92. Joel Sachs, ''Henry Cowell: A Man Made of Music'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 13. 
14. Overbeck, The Tramp Printers., 99-100. Libby Ingalls, [[Women_in_Printing|“Women in Printing,”]] FoundSF.org 
15. Ingalls, [[Women_in_Printing|“Women in Printing,”]] 
16. ''Common Sense'', October 24, 1874; “Flora Wellman Chaney,” ''Common Sense'', June 13, 1874. Ingalls, [[Women_in_Printing|“Women in Printing.”]] 
17 I highly recommend the Transmetropolitan Review’s zine/article “Who the Hell is Jack London,” though it does not take note of the radical home he was born into. [https://london.sonoma.edu/biographies/william-chaney “William Chaney,” Jack London Online]
18 Braude, ''Radical Spirits'', 172. Emanie Sachs, ''“The Terrible Siren”: Victoria Woodhull (1838-1927)'' (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1928), 217-218. ''Woodhull & Claflin’s Weekly'', New York, May 18, 1872. “Common Sense Publishing Company,” ''Common Sense'', June 20, 1874. ''Common Sense'', April 24, 1875. 
19 Sachs, “The Terrible Siren,” 217-218. “In Memorium,” ''Liberty'', Boston, January 21, 1882. 
20. “Ah Hea Lea Speaks,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, September 26, 1874. Reprinted in Woodhull and Claflin’s ''Weekly'', October 17, 1874. “Chinese Labor,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, October 31, 1874. 
21. “Higher or Lower,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 22, 1875. “The Chinese Question,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 29, 1875.

[[category:Labor]] [[category:French]] [[category:Chinese]] [[category:Dissent]] [[category:Women]] [[category:1870s]] [[category:Book Excerpts]] [[category:Newspapers]] [[category:Media]]

File:Common-Sense-Masthead 081836.jpg

Ccarlsson — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 03:58:29 GMT

Ccarlsson uploaded File:Common-Sense-Masthead 081836.jpg

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Why the 1971-72 ILWU Strike Failed

Ccarlsson — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 01:06:34 GMT

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Mechanization on the Waterfront

Ccarlsson — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 01:05:01 GMT

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B Men and Automation

Ccarlsson — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 01:04:03 GMT

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The Progress Club—1934 and Class Memory

Ccarlsson — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 01:03:20 GMT

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	[[Image:Reclaiming-san-francisco.jpg\|170px\|left]] This article originally appeared in ''Reclaiming San Francisco: History Politics Culture'', a City Lights anthology edited by James Brook, Chris Carlsson, & Nancy J. Peters (City Lights Books, San Francisco: 1998)		[[Image:Reclaiming-san-francisco.jpg\|170px\|left]] This article originally appeared in ''Reclaiming San Francisco: History Politics Culture'', a City Lights anthology edited by James Brook, Chris Carlsson, & Nancy J. Peters (City Lights Books, San Francisco: 1998)

	[[category:Labor]][[category:ILWU]] [[category:Power and Money]] [[category:Redevelopment]] [[category:Dissent]] [[category:1930s]] [[category:1940s]] [[category:1950s]] [[category:1960s]] [[category:1970s]] [[category:1934 General Strike]] [[category:Reclaiming San Francisco]]		[[category:Labor]][[category:ILWU]] [[category:Power and Money]] [[category:Technology]] [[category:Redevelopment]] [[category:Dissent]] [[category:1930s]] [[category:1940s]] [[category:1950s]] [[category:1960s]] [[category:1970s]] [[category:1934 General Strike]] [[category:Reclaiming San Francisco]]

Poems in Street, Coffeehouse, and Print—The Mid-1960s

Lisaruth — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 19:20:16 GMT

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	'''Lew Welch, Gary Snyder, and Philip Whalen before the Freeway reading in 1963.'''		'''Lew Welch, Gary Snyder, and Philip Whalen before the Freeway reading in 1963.'''

	''Photo by Steamboat''		''Photo by "Steamboat" Jim Hatch''

	The first poets to step into the breach were Lew Welch, Gary Snyder, and Philip Whalen-at the "Freeway" reading on June 12, 1963, in the Tenderloin at Old Longshoremen's Hall—folding chairs and squeaky hardwood floor. Jack Spicer, I was told, was sitting behind me, swollen red with drink, not taking matters too seriously, with a band of friends. But serious enough to come. Lew had done the advance work. Ralph Gleason, the late jazz columnist for the Chronicle, had devoted a whole column to Lew's work as a poet, how he had cracked up and gone off to the Trinity Alps for two years, how he had just come back. With a hall full of at least 500 people, it was a great way to reenter. Gary read what are now well-known Sierra poems in a quiet voice. Philip read his poems real fast, moving through his manuscript backwards, flipping pages left to right. It was too quick until he settled into a long poem about the City and the Sheraton Palace Sit-Ins-a great piece of rant and outrage, published eventually as "Minor Moralia." He juxtaposed the political events of the City against two high school girls discussing homework and dates on the bus, totally oblivious to the protests and arrests shaking the City. He had the audience riveted, hungry as we were for a real depiction of both our political aspirations and a direct sense of what was happening on the street. Whalen had immediately established himself as a troubadour of local truth. And then Lew came on; he read exquisitely, as he was then capable of doing, of his return to the City, coming down Highway 99, of bizarre encounters with old friends. Reading his ''Hermit Poems'' he juxtaposed the cosmic and harmonious aspects of mountain-stream-pebble formations with the incongruous run-ins of City life. With a charming and hilarious wit, he collided the urban and mountain world.		The first poets to step into the breach were Lew Welch, Gary Snyder, and Philip Whalen-at the "Freeway" reading on June 12, 1963, in the Tenderloin at Old Longshoremen's Hall—folding chairs and squeaky hardwood floor. Jack Spicer, I was told, was sitting behind me, swollen red with drink, not taking matters too seriously, with a band of friends. But serious enough to come. Lew had done the advance work. Ralph Gleason, the late jazz columnist for the Chronicle, had devoted a whole column to Lew's work as a poet, how he had cracked up and gone off to the Trinity Alps for two years, how he had just come back. With a hall full of at least 500 people, it was a great way to reenter. Gary read what are now well-known Sierra poems in a quiet voice. Philip read his poems real fast, moving through his manuscript backwards, flipping pages left to right. It was too quick until he settled into a long poem about the City and the Sheraton Palace Sit-Ins-a great piece of rant and outrage, published eventually as "Minor Moralia." He juxtaposed the political events of the City against two high school girls discussing homework and dates on the bus, totally oblivious to the protests and arrests shaking the City. He had the audience riveted, hungry as we were for a real depiction of both our political aspirations and a direct sense of what was happening on the street. Whalen had immediately established himself as a troubadour of local truth. And then Lew came on; he read exquisitely, as he was then capable of doing, of his return to the City, coming down Highway 99, of bizarre encounters with old friends. Reading his ''Hermit Poems'' he juxtaposed the cosmic and harmonious aspects of mountain-stream-pebble formations with the incongruous run-ins of City life. With a charming and hilarious wit, he collided the urban and mountain world.

Clark's Point

Ccarlsson — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 05:25:13 GMT

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	''by Woody LaBounty''		''by Woody LaBounty''

	''Originally published as "A Room at Clark's Point" at [https://www.sanfranciscostory.com/a-room-at-clarks-point/ ''San Francisco Story'', June, 2026''		''Originally published as "A Room at Clark's Point" at [https://www.sanfranciscostory.com/a-room-at-clarks-point/ ''San Francisco Story''], June, 2026''

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	'''~~erba~~ Buena Cove about to see some big changes in the fall of 1848. Clark's Point and Telegraph Hill in my red box.'''		'''Yerba Buena Cove about to see some big changes in the fall of 1848. Clark's Point and Telegraph Hill in my red box.'''

	''Image courtesy The New York Public Library/[https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/dec06470-c5ed-012f-6986-58d385a7bc34?canvasIndex=0 Stokes 1848-F-56].''		''Image courtesy The New York Public Library/[https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/dec06470-c5ed-012f-6986-58d385a7bc34?canvasIndex=0 Stokes 1848-F-56].''

Clark's Point

Ccarlsson — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 05:22:56 GMT

Created page with "''' Historical Essay ''' ''by Woody LaBounty'' ''Originally published as "A Room at Clark's Point" at [https://www.sanfranciscostory.com/a-room-at-clarks-point/ ''San Francisco Story'', June, 2026'' 800px '''The Fremont Hotel on the cover of a German magazine in 1850.''' ''Image: courtesy [https://www.thehenryford.org/collections/explore/artifact/110..."

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''' Historical Essay '''

''by Woody LaBounty''

''Originally published as "A Room at Clark's Point" at [https://www.sanfranciscostory.com/a-room-at-clarks-point/ ''San Francisco Story'', June, 2026''

[[Image:German-magazine 002 ENVk.jpg|800px]]

'''The Fremont Hotel on the cover of a German magazine in 1850.'''

''Image: courtesy [https://www.thehenryford.org/collections/explore/artifact/110564?AssetId=THF108367&ref=sanfranciscostory.com Henry Ford Museum/THF108367]''

At the dawn of the California Gold Rush, most of the early arrivals to San Francisco by sea came ashore at the southeastern edge of Telegraph Hill, land claimed by William S. Clark and called Clark’s Point.

Clark’s Point marked the northern edge of shallow, muddy [[Yerba Buena Cove|Yerba Buena Cove]] and Clark began building a fairly humble wharf there just before news of the discovery of gold in the Sierras reached the town of San Francisco in the spring of 1848.

Today the location corresponds with Broadway near Front Street, with the old cove to the south completely filled in by San Francisco’s Financial District.

[[Image:Clarks-point 003 ENVk.jpg|800px]]

'''On Broadway between Battery and Front streets, where my feet would be wet in 1848, but a good two blocks from the seawall today.'''

One gold rusher recalled pulling in to Clark’s Point in 1849 and seeing “the rising slope of Telegraph Hill directly in front,” and to the left, “the low water line, the sandy beach, the sand dunes covered with chaparral and scrub oak…”

But what he saw directly in front of him as he landed “was the largest building of any kind in this city […] on a bank, the edge of which was what is now the western line of Battery Street. It was, from the prominent position it occupied, the most striking object which met the eye of those who came into port.”

This was the Fremont Family Hotel, an enterprise of the house and ship carpenters, William Hood and Charles Wilson.

Named after “pathfinder,” self-promoter, and general problem, John C. Fremont, the two-story building with its four dormer windows opened for business in 1849 and had a great location to suck in the arriving gold seekers.

Clark’s Point was the most suitable place to land for the Argonauts pulling in via lighters, whale-boats, and dug-outs from ships anchored in deeper water.

[[Image:1848-map 002 ENVk.jpg|800px]]

'''erba Buena Cove about to see some big changes in the fall of 1848. Clark's Point and Telegraph Hill in my red box.'''

''Image courtesy The New York Public Library/[https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/dec06470-c5ed-012f-6986-58d385a7bc34?canvasIndex=0 Stokes 1848-F-56].''

[[Image:1848-map-detail-1 003 ENVk.jpg|800px]]

'''Drawn by Augustus Harrison, master of the brig "Belfast," this detail of the above map shows his vessel at Clark's Point at an early version of the Broadway wharf built by William S. Clark.''' The ''Belfast'' was the first ocean-sailing ship to moor at a San Francisco wharf. In my red circle is a penciled-in rectangle of the Fremont Family Hotel under construction. The "Old Fort" to the north is a breastwork put up during the United States conquest of California in 1846 and the reason for Battery Street's name.

A room at the Fremont Family Hotel at Clark’s Point was considered “a luxurious home for those who were fortunate to have secured lodgings there.” Ads for the business were published as far away as Germany. Its prime location, standing where “ships rode at anchor within a stone’s throw of its door-yard,” must have made the proprietors a mint in 1849-1850.

But 300,000 arriving gold-seekers need a lot of bed space. The mad entrepreneurial zeal of the Gold Rush meant competitive advantages were lost quickly. New hotels and housing options of all kinds popped up across the sandy dunes at the cove.

Humble Clark’s Point soon lost its preeminence to a frenzy of wharf building. In the summer of 1850, the ''Alta'' reported the cutting away of Telegraph Hill’s bank north of the Fremont hotel to access new piers capable of hosting “floating large class vessels and steamers.”

[[Image:1853-Coast-Survey 002 ENVk.jpg|800px]]

'''Detail of the 1853 U.S. Coast Survey map showing James Cunningham’s and Laws' wharves above Clark's Point with many more stretching into the bay to the south. The need to port cargo and people ashore with small boats was ended. My white circle marks the site of the Fremont Family Hotel.'''

South of the hotel, entrepreneurs began construction of Central Wharf in 1849 at today’s Commercial and Montgomery streets. In 1850, wharves pushed out from Market and Pacific streets and more followed, extending to deeper water from Sacramento, Washington, Jackson, Clay, and Vallejo streets.

By 1853, Fremont House found itself in a metaphorical backwater of the city.

[[Image:433178 0 003 ENVk.jpg|800px]]

'''Detail of an 1868 lithograph of the waterfront around Telegraph Hill with my labels. The Fremont Hotel was within my red circle. Early docks and wharves on the north (right) were quickly supplanted by larger ones to the south.'''

<big>'''An Old Relic'''</big>

In 1857, the ''Alta'' called “the old Fremont Hotel” (built just 8 years earlier) “a speculation which did not result very favorably” because the cliff sides all around the hotel had been carved away for ship ballast and street-making.

By the next year, 1858, the Fremont was called “an old relic,” an “ancient and venerable building” surrounded by large storehouses. It was land-locked, “lonely and deserted,” blocks from the waterfront, which was still being extended east. The Gold Rush hotel had lost its foundation completely to ballast-hunters and stood on posts 10 feet above those excavations.

[[Image:Vallejo-wharf-1860s 002 ENVk.jpg|800px]]

'''Vallejo Street wharf in the mid 1860s with Telegraph Hill in the background. The Fremont Hotel building is hidden behind the stone warehouse at the foot of the wharf.'''

''Photo: Lawrence & Houseworth stereoview image''

Less than a decade after its construction, less than a decade removed from its status as one of the most imposing and luxurious of buildings, the state of the Fremont was assessed by a reporter:

“Its glory has departed and it wears the appearance of an old rickety, dusty old tumble-down edifice, with none so poor to make a shelter of its roof, except those well known denizens, the rats of San Francisco.”

In a city where the new is always prized and a decade-old building is a relic, the Fremont structure somehow held on for almost another 50 years.

The old hotel was used as a private hospital before transitioning into a rooming house for Italian immigrants. At the dawn of the 20th century, it was still standing on Battery Street, 60 feet north of Vallejo Street and set into a tidy row of wood-frame buildings next to a blacksmith shop.

[[Image:Fremont-hotel-1890 002 ENVk.jpg|800px]]

'''The former Fremont Hotel, second from left, used as a boarding house on the west side of the 900 block of Battery Street in 1890.'''

''Image: San Francisco Call, November 16, 1890, pg. 13.''

While recognized in the 1890s as one of the oldest structures in San Francisco, it was still judged as much of a wreck as it had been in 1858:

<blockquote>“Above the line of the cornice may be seen evidences of the ravages of time, decay and neglect. More than one-half of the panes of glass in the little dormer windows have been shattered, while the remainder are covered with cobwebs and the accumulated dust of years.” </blockquote>

The survivor of [[FIRE!|multiple fires]] in the city (five major ones just between 1849 and 1851), the old Fremont Family Hotel building likely met its end in the city’s biggest one. The entire block was wiped out by the great conflagrations following the April 18, 1906 earthquake.

The former location of the Fremont Hotel is today occupied by a large building, 901 Battery Street, which began life as the Petri Cigar Company.

[[Image:IMG 0135 002 ENVk.jpg|800px]]

'''Former Petri Cigar Company building on the northwest corner of Battery and Vallejo streets.'''

Built in 1923, the cigar factory warehouse has stood almost half a century longer than the old Fremont Hotel lasted and is included in a Northeast Waterfront Historic District.

It took a while, but maybe San Franciscans started appreciating having some old relics around.

<big>'''Sources'''</big>

“Broadway Wharf,” ''The Californian'', April 12, 1848, pg. 2.

City Improvements,” ''Daily Alta California'', July 19, 1850, pg. 2.

“City Items,” ''Daily Alta California'', October 16, 1857, pg. 2.

“An Old Relic on Stilts,” ''Daily Alta California'', August 27, 1858, pg. 1.

“City Wharves,” ''Daily Alta California'', November 29, 1863, pg. 1.

“The Fremont Hotel,” ''San Francisco Call'', November 16, 1890, pg. 13.

[[category:1850s]] [[category:Gold Rush]] [[category:North Beach]] [[category:Telegraph Hill]] [[category:Buildings]]

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Peter Neumann: Pavane for a Dead Prince

Ccarlsson — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 22:12:00 GMT

Created page with "''' Historical Essay ''' ''by Paulina Borsook, 2026'' 450px '''Peter G. Neumann''' ''Photo: Wikimedia Commons'' I can't stop thinking about it and I don't know how to write about it. It being the May 2026 death of august revered beloved computer scientist/computer security expert Peter Neumann at the age of 93. We were not friends; we met or talked just a f..."

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''' Historical Essay '''

''by Paulina Borsook, 2026''

[[Image:Peter G Neumann.jpg|450px]]

'''Peter G. Neumann'''

''Photo: Wikimedia Commons''

I can't stop thinking about it and I don't know how to write about it.

It being the May 2026 death of august revered beloved computer scientist/computer security expert Peter Neumann at the age of 93. We were not friends; we met or talked just a few times in my role as technology journalist. But with some people, you just know: how warm, how deeply humane, how deeply wise, how deeply deep --- and a given, how brilliant.

A friend attended Neumann's memorial service in person (I logged in via Zoom) and among the holy relics on display for people to take as souvenirs of Neumann's life was a copy of ''Cyberselfish'', as comped by Public Affairs, the book's original publisher. Neumann had folded in a few reviews into the well-preserved first edition.

He was the farthest thing from being a "founder" in today's loathsome AI robot sense. He trusted research, not corporations. Yet he was an actual founder of computer-security projects and institutions, with maybe the most well-known being the ''Association for Computing Machinery Risks Forum'' newsgroup, where people reported in on the ways computers can go bad.

You could say running ''Risks'' was an act of caritas and empathy, a cataloging of harms that people should watch out for.

He was a prince among men, a mensch, all those words which mean someone deeply good. More than one grown man wept while standing on the memorial-service dais. He was a mentor, a loving family-man, a secular saint, no other way to put it. He anonymously donated $4 million to the chorus of the San Francisco Symphony (SFS), a gift which among other things gave the chorus an endowment. Somehow it seems typical of his great good character that he wanted the union-musician choristers, as well as SFS staffers, in on the discussions of the charitable gift.

Too many declarative sentences are in what follows, but I don't know how else to say what should be said. This chief scientist at the SRI thinktank-industrial lab embodied agape and philia. He worked for and believed in the sanctity and security of voting. It figures: he started his career working for 10 years at Bell Labs, another great entity dead, departed, and the like of which we will never see again.

He was one of Aristotle's great-souled men.

But now we have Zuck, Marc Andreessen, the Paypal Mafia, and the ignorant armies of AI clashing by night. Artisan AI (no really, that's its name) is the company which placed billboards all over San Francisco demanding "Stop Hiring Humans" and "Fire Steve/Hire Ava." Part of its mission statement: "Constantly apply pressure, be impatient, and strive for speed. This is a race."

Cultural institutions are shutting down or cutting back all over the Bay Area. Art isn't productive or efficient except perhaps as an asset class in an a well-diversified portfolio. Artspaces are disappearing into highest and best real estate use. Philanthropy is distasteful and pitiable and so last century; Neumann would now be considered a fool.

This is hell and we are in it.

As Steve Rappaport, a friend of forty+ years wrote in an email:

<blockquote>"When you think about it, what did they do besides ruin responsible media, shift advertising dollars to themselves, screw up entire generations, and establish themselves as royalty with divine rights?"</blockquote>

"The lamps are going out all over .... we shall not see them lit again in our life-time." Pace, Sir Edward Grey, who wrote this when World War One was starting up and hence also setting in motion the Second World War and the Communist takeovers of Eastern and Central Europe. Global immiseration, the wretched of the earth. Neumann was a lion and the superscalar despots are the donkeys, but that's really a slander on donkeys.

What have we become?

[[category:Famous characters]] [[category:Technology]] [[category:2020s]] [[category:South Bay and Peninsula]]

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← Older revision		Revision as of 21:44, 18 July 2026
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	<big>'''Notes'''</big>		<big>'''Notes'''</big>

	6. Perrier, “L’Union républicaine,” 216. [https://maitron.fr/spip.php? article135920 Michel Cordillot, FLOTTE Benjamin, Le Maitron]<br>		6. Perrier, “L’Union républicaine,” 216. [https://maitron.fr/spip.php?article135920 Michel Cordillot, FLOTTE Benjamin, Le Maitron]<br>
	7. Perrier, “L’Union républicaine,” 216. [https://maitron.fr/spip.php? article135920 Michel Cordillot, FLOTTE Benjamin, Le Maitron], Perrier, “L’Union républicaine,” 222. ''Los Angeles Herald'', May 26, 1874. ''Marysville Daily Appeal'', May 26, 1874. “French Republican Banquet,” ''Sacramento Daily Union'', May 26, 1874. Michel Cordillot.<br>		7. Perrier, “L’Union républicaine,” 216. [https://maitron.fr/spip.php?article135920 Michel Cordillot, FLOTTE Benjamin, Le Maitron], Perrier, “L’Union républicaine,” 222. ''Los Angeles Herald'', May 26, 1874. ''Marysville Daily Appeal'', May 26, 1874. “French Republican Banquet,” ''Sacramento Daily Union'', May 26, 1874. Michel Cordillot.<br>
	8. Michel Cordillot [https://maitron.fr/spip.php?article159709 “CARON Charles,”] Le Maitron, [https://maitron.fr/spip.php?article159593 “LAFAIX Jean-René”] Le Maitron<br>		8. Michel Cordillot [https://maitron.fr/spip.php?article159709 “CARON Charles,”] Le Maitron, [https://maitron.fr/spip.php?article159593 “LAFAIX Jean-René”] Le Maitron<br>
	9. “Signs of the Times,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, March 27, 1875. ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, April 17, 1875. “Meeting of Working Men,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, April 24, 1875. “Workingmen’s Meeting,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 1, 1878. “Meeting of Workingmen,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 8, 1875. “Meetings of Workingmen,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 15, 1875. “Meeting of Reformers,” May 22, 1875. B. F. French would remain active in Socialist causes in San Francisco and Los Angeles at least to 1901, later participating in the Bellamy inspired “Nationalist Movement” and the Socialist Party.<br>		9. “Signs of the Times,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, March 27, 1875. ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, April 17, 1875. “Meeting of Working Men,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, April 24, 1875. “Workingmen’s Meeting,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 1, 1878. “Meeting of Workingmen,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 8, 1875. “Meetings of Workingmen,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 15, 1875. “Meeting of Reformers,” May 22, 1875. B. F. French would remain active in Socialist causes in San Francisco and Los Angeles at least to 1901, later participating in the Bellamy inspired “Nationalist Movement” and the Socialist Party.<br>
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	15. Ingalls, [[Women_in_Printing\|“Women in Printing,”]]<br>		15. Ingalls, [[Women_in_Printing\|“Women in Printing,”]]<br>
	16. ''Common Sense'', October 24, 1874; “Flora Wellman Chaney,” ''Common Sense'', June 13, 1874. Ingalls, [[Women_in_Printing\|“Women in Printing.”]]<br>		16. ''Common Sense'', October 24, 1874; “Flora Wellman Chaney,” ''Common Sense'', June 13, 1874. Ingalls, [[Women_in_Printing\|“Women in Printing.”]]<br>
	17 I highly recommend the Transmetropolitan Review’s zine/article “Who the Hell is Jack London,” though it does not take note of the radical home he was born into. [https://london.sonoma.edu/biographies/william-chaney “William Chaney,” Jack London Online]		17. I highly recommend the Transmetropolitan Review’s zine/article “Who the Hell is Jack London,” though it does not take note of the radical home he was born into. [https://london.sonoma.edu/biographies/william-chaney “William Chaney,” Jack London Online]
	18 Braude, ''Radical Spirits'', 172. Emanie Sachs, ''“The Terrible Siren”: Victoria Woodhull (1838-1927)'' (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1928), 217-218. ''Woodhull & Claflin’s Weekly'', New York, May 18, 1872. “Common Sense Publishing Company,” ''Common Sense'', June 20, 1874. ''Common Sense'', April 24, 1875.<br>		18. Braude, ''Radical Spirits'', 172. Emanie Sachs, ''“The Terrible Siren”: Victoria Woodhull (1838-1927)'' (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1928), 217-218. ''Woodhull & Claflin’s Weekly'', New York, May 18, 1872. “Common Sense Publishing Company,” ''Common Sense'', June 20, 1874. ''Common Sense'', April 24, 1875.<br>
	19 Sachs, “The Terrible Siren,” 217-218. “In Memorium,” ''Liberty'', Boston, January 21, 1882.<br>		19. Sachs, “The Terrible Siren,” 217-218. “In Memorium,” ''Liberty'', Boston, January 21, 1882.<br>
	20. “Ah Hea Lea Speaks,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, September 26, 1874. Reprinted in Woodhull and Claflin’s ''Weekly'', October 17, 1874. “Chinese Labor,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, October 31, 1874.<br>		20. “Ah Hea Lea Speaks,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, September 26, 1874. Reprinted in Woodhull and Claflin’s ''Weekly'', October 17, 1874. “Chinese Labor,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, October 31, 1874.<br>
	21. “Higher or Lower,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 22, 1875. “The Chinese Question,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 29, 1875.		21. “Higher or Lower,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 22, 1875. “The Chinese Question,” ''Common Sense'', San Francisco, May 29, 1875.