How can 10 cents on 100 papers mean more to a millionaire than it does to newsboys?A youth-led campaign in the United States was led by a group of young boys against cruelty and injustice. The voices of the newsboys filled the streets of New York on July 20, 1899.In July 1899, a large group of newsboys refused to sell two major newspapers sold in the city: the New York Evening Journal and the New York World. These were owned by the powerful citizens of New York, namely, Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. For several days, the strike completely overtook New York City.Do you think these strikers were professional? No, the newsboys’ strike was led by the children ‘newsies’. The newsies were young, houseless orphaned children who earned their living through newspaper deliveries. Although most of the newsies were boys, there were many newsgirls too. These newsies went head-to-head with the newspaper owners.The newsies were a group of young people under the leadership of Kid Blink and David Simmons. Kid Blink and David Simmons were charismatic strike leaders and were also nicknamed Muggsy McGee and Blind Diamond (because he used to wear an eye patch over his left eye). Under their leadership, the boys organized rallies, meetings with the newspaper owners, and fended off the adult men hired as scabs.The story of the famous newsboy strike of 1899 began when Joseph Pulitzer and Hearst came up with the idea of raising the taxes paid by the newsboys on selling newspapers. They raised the price of newspapers from 50 cents to 60 cents. 10 cents rise on 100 papers led to a huge strike in the city of New York. More than 5,000 newsies were brought to New York City to host rallies.The two-week strike caused a decrease in the sales of the New York World of Joseph Pulitzer from 360,000 papers per day to 125,000. However, this made no change in the price rise, but they did agree to buy back any unsold papers. The newsboy strike ended when they accepted the compromise. This gave the young boys some relief because they wouldn’t have to sell the unsold newspapers until late at night.Also in 1992, a musical film was made by Disney about the untold story of the newsboy strike of 1899. The strike showed that no matter how old you are, how popular you are, where you come from, or what you look like, you can make a difference if you have the potential and courage to fight injustice.After you’ve finished reading this article on 17 newsboy strike of 1899 facts, you might be interested in learning more about when the cold war began and American civil war facts on Kidadl.History Of The Newsboys’ Strike Of 1899The Newsboy Strike of 1899 was a powerful movement led by young children against the mammoth newspapers of New York. The ’newsies’ were a group of street boys who sold newspapers from different newspaper publishers at an additional profit.The newsies’ strike of 1899 began in mid-July, with a group of seven-year-old boys holding rallies and marching in New York City. On July 18, the boys of Long Island City found out the difference in the prices of the New York Evening Journal and World as compared to other newspaper publishing companies. The newsies gathered in Manhattan’s City Hall Park to form a union. The main aim of the union was to decrease the price hike imposed by Pulitzer and Hearst.At first, the strike was not taken seriously, but later, the strike extended as a huge group of Newsies joined the movement, and they all refused to sell these two biggest newspapers. The strike expanded across the Brooklyn Bridge, causing a huge traffic and chaos situation. This resulted in a dip in their sales from 360,000 papers per day to 125,000.At the end of two weeks, the newsboys made themselves heard with rallies, including marches and speeches. The strike expanded across the Brooklyn Bridge for several days, which resulted in a large blockade of traffic. This strike was covered extensively by the New York Tribune, who often patronized Kid Blink and helped take the message to the masses.With an impassioned speech, Louis ‘Kid Blin’ Baletti, an 18-year-old strike leader, rallied 5,000 young newsies. The citizens also encouraged and tipped the boys as they supported the cause. All of these factors brought the Moguls to the table for a talk.Causes Of Newsboys Strike Of 1899The Newsboys’ Strike began by demanding that the wholesale price increase, from 50 cents per 100 newspapers to 60 cents per 100 newspapers, be rolled back. The newsboy strikes were also held several years before the events of 1899, such as the strikes of 1886, 1887, and 1889.But when the Spanish-American War started in April 1898, the price of the newspaper increased from five cents per newspaper to six cents per. Since the war was the center of attraction, the news of the war spread like fire, and this made publishers increase the price. And the newsies didn’t care then either, because all the newspapers were sold in a minute.But after the war ended in December 1898, the demand for newspapers declined and so did the price. But not all publishers brought prices down. The New York Journal and New York World left the prices at 60 cents per 100 newspapers. It was also rumored that this price hike was also because of the personal war between Pulitzer and Hearst.However, by July 1889, the newsies started a strike against the publisher of The Evening World and the New York Evening Journal, which lasted two weeks.Disclosures Of The Newsboys Strike Of 1899The newsboys officially went on strike on July 21, 1899, under the leadership of Kid Blink and David Simmons. The newsies went across New York City to show their unification. This united group of boys made people realize issues related to child labor and inspired people to stand for social justice.The strike not only influenced the citizens of the United States but also people worldwide. The strike encouraged many people around to raise these issues and get justice, such as strikes in Hartford, Connecticut (1909), Butte, Montana (1914), and Louisville, Kentucky (the ’20s).In addition, the unkempt young boys made a huge impact on people, inspiring them to fight against the rich and ruling bosses. They were fictionalized by DC Comics in 1942. Besides, in 1992, a popular film based on the strike called ‘Newsies’ was released by Disney Film. The movie was so popular that Broadway adapted it into a new and better version with various key points that were missing earlier.Initial Days Of Newsboys Strike Of 1899Long before the newsboys’ strike, the lives of the newsies were tough and unidentified. Their lives only included things like waking up early to earn their livelihood. Most of them were homeless orphans who had to work very hard at a young age to earn meager pennies. They used to eat, sleep, make their living, and amuse themselves in their own way, as long as the newspapers were sold.In the initial days, the method of newsboy was quite violent during the strike. Anybody found selling the boycotted newspapers would be punished, mobbed, and beaten by the group of strikers. These people were called ‘scabs’. Not only strikers, but the boycotted newspapers would also use their tactics. They would hire grown men to sell their newspapers with police protection. But somehow the newsies would distract the police and get at the scabs.The publishers then hired women and girls to sell the papers, as the newsies would never lay a hand on a lady. As their union leader, Kid Blank, would say, ’ feller workers can’t soak a lady’. He also hung signs around the city to encourage citizens to support them and not buy the boycotted papers.Despite this, many local politicians and businessmen, like lawyer Leonard A. Suitkin, Frank B. Wood, and ex-Assemblyman Phil Wissig, also addressed the citizens in support of publishing agencies. In the early days, the Manhattan City Hall Park became the debate park where supporters of both the parties: strikers and publishers, used to give speeches one by one.Among all the speeches, Kid Blank’s speech was given a floral horseshoe as a reward for giving the best speech of the evening. However, after a few days, the newsies changed their ways to mostly non-violent ones.After two weeks, the strike ended when the publishers kneeled down in front of the newsies and agreed to buy back the unsold papers. Also, the introduction of urban child-welfare practices made the newsboys’ quality of life better.The newsboys’ strike of 1899 not only influenced people worldwide but also left an outsized benefaction on American history and American heritage.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for newsboys’ strike of 1899 facts then why not take a look at backwards day or First Battle Of Revolutionary War.
How can 10 cents on 100 papers mean more to a millionaire than it does to newsboys?
