Flip to Migrant workers hired as strikebreakers at the King Farm near Morrisville, PA, 1938.Close Window
Credit: Library of Congress
During the 1930s, Pennsylvania farmers continued to seasonally employ thousands of men and women desperate for jobs. Awful living conditions and low wages pushed some workers to the breaking point. In the summer of 1938, workers near Morrisville staged a strike when the King Farm refused to pay them more than 17 to 20 cents an hour. The strike attracted the attention of the Federal Farm Bureau Administration (FSA), which sent John Vachon (1915-1975) to photograph what was taking place. An FSA messenger and clerk, Vachon later would become an acclaimed documentary photographer, working for Life Magazine and other major publications.
