Notes of Sixty Years

The Autobiography of Florence Kelley

by Florence Kelley

Publication date: June 1985
Paperback: $16.00

One of the most remarkable figures in American history, Florence Kelley (1859–1932) was a major leader in the struggle for progressive labor and social legislation. Appointed Illinois' first Chief Factory Inspector in 1893, Kelley led the fight for job safety and child-labor laws, helped women organize unions, and agitated for a shorter working day. Her friends and co-workers included Friedrich Engels, Julia Lathrop, Henry Demarest Lloyd, Alzina P. Stevens, and Lillian Wald. She was active in the Socialist Party, the League for Industrial Democracy, the National Consumers League, and the woman suffrage movement. Her FBI file noted in 1923 that she had been "a radical all the 64 years of her life." Also included with this classic autobiography is Kelley's pivotal early essay, "The Need Of Theoretical Preparation For Philanthropic Work" (1870).