Chapter III: Preface: To Second Edition 9

INTRODUCTION, by Professor Franklin H. Giddings 17

CHAPTER I THE LABOR MOVEMENT IN FRANCE TO THE COMMUNE(1789-1871)

Legislation of French Revolution on trade associations; law le Chapelier, 1791--Laws of Napoleon--Prohibition of strikes--Violation of these laws--Secret labor organizations in France: compagnonnages, societies of resistance--Revolution of 1848 and the co-operative movement--Influence of Louis Blanc--Reaction during the fifties--Revival of labor movement in 1862--Effort of French Workingmen to break legal barriers--New law on strikes in 1864--Toleration of labor unions by Government of Napoleon III--Syndicats and co-operation--Failure of co-operative central bank in 1868--Communistic and Revolutionary tendencies in "The International"--Success of "The International" in 1869--Franco-Prussian War and its influence on the French labor movement 19

CHAPTER II ORIGIN OF THE GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOR (1871-1895)

The influence of the Commune on the syndicats--Barberet and his rôle in the syndical movement (1872-78)--The first Labor Congress in France (1886)--Acceptance of the Socialist program by the syndicats at the congress of Marseilles (1879)--The Socialist groups in France: Guesdists, Broussists, Allemanists, Blanquists, Independents, Anarchists--Their points of agreement and of difference--Influence of socialist divisions on development of labor organizations--Attempts of syndicats to form a central organization--The National Federation of Syndicats; its failure--The Bourse du Travail--The Federation of Bourses du Travail--The idea of the general strike--Its conception--Criticism by Guesdists--Split in National Federation of Syndicats--Formation of General Confederation of Labor by advocates of general strike and opponents of Guesdists 45

CHAPTER III THE FEDERATION OF BOURSES DU TRAVAIL

Importance of Bourses du Travail; their rapid growth--Municipal and governmental subventions--Program of Bourses du Travail--Federation of Bourses du Travail organized in 1892--Its original purpose--Fernand Pelloutier Secretary of Federation--His rôle and influence--Conception of syndicat as the cell of future society--Growth of Federation of Bourses; its relations with the General Confederation of Labor 73

CHAPTER IV THE GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOR FROM 1895-1902

Reasons for dividing history of General Confederation into two periods--Weakness of Confederation before 1902--Congress of Tours in 1896--Discussion of the idea of the general strike--Congress of Toulouse in 1897--Discussion of _sabotage_ and boycott and of "Direct Action"--Congress of Rennes in 1898--Congresses of Paris in 1900 and of Lyons in 1901--Revolutionary character of Congress of Lyons: New conception of general strike; revolutionary character of syndicat; anti-militaristic ideas; opposition to labor legislation--Causes of revolutionary ideas: changes in the program and methods of socialist parties; Dreyfus affair; entrance of socialist Millerand into "bourgeois" government--Congress of Montpellier in 1902 and the fusion of the Federation of Bourses du Travail with the General Confederation of Labor 91

CHAPTER V THE DOCTRINE OF REVOLUTIONARY SYNDICALISM

Class struggle, its meaning and importance--Syndicat the proper organization for carrying on class struggle--Strength of syndicat by uniting workingmen without distinction of race, religion, political or philosophical ideas--Industrial unionism versus Craft unionism--Syndicats and "Direct Action"--Methods of "Direct Action:" strike, boycott, _sabotage_, label--The direct struggle against the State; exclusion of parliamentary methods--Criticism of democracy--Class struggle versus co-operation of classes--Anti-patriotism--Anti-militarism--General strike the means of emancipating workingmen--The ideal society of the syndicalists: economic federalism--The rôle of the "conscious minority"--Syndicats the true leaders of the working-class 123