This commitment order for William “Big Bill” Haywood comes from his inmate case file from Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. Haywood was convicted of obstruction of military service and sedition under the Espionage Act of 1917.
Judge Kenesaw M. Landis issued this order to the warden of the United States Penitentiary at Leavenworth to imprison Haywood for a "period of six years on count one, ten years on count two, two years on count three and twenty years on count four...to run concurrently" – 20 years in federal prison.
Haywood was the leader of the Western Federation of Miners and a founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), commonly referred to as the "Wobblies." He assembled unionists, and intimidated company bosses for improved labor conditions.
Also included in
Haywood's inmate file are his "mug shot," "record sheet," fingerprints, Bertillon measurements (an anthropometric identification system), record of items received, and other documents. See the
entire file in the National Archives online catalog.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Bureau of Prisons.
Full Citation: Commitment Order for William Haywood; 8/30/1918; Inmate Number 13106; Inmate File of William Haywood; Inmate Case Files, 7/3/1895 - 11/5/1957; Records of the Bureau of Prisons, Record Group 129; National Archives at Kansas City, Kansas City, MO. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/haywood-commitment-order, April 19, 2024]