Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2021/Summer/105/Section 15/Joseph Fulmer

Overview
Joseph E. Fulmer was born on November 6th, 1880 in Newberry, South Carolina. He worked in at the Newberry Mills for over 50 years and lived most of his life in the mill village surrounding the mill. He took an interview there for the Federal Writer's Project.

Early life
Joseph Edward Fulmer was born on November 6th, 1880, in Newberry, South Carolina to James Gilliam Fulmer and Mary Elizabeth Fulmer. Fulmer grew in a big family with eight other siblings. To help his family financially, Fulmer took up a job at the Newberry mills at the age of 14, where he worked his whole life.

Family Life
While working at the mills, Fulmer met his wife, Lillie Bedenbaugh. Lillie came from Saluda County, South Carolina but had lived near the mills her whole life. Fulmer and Lillie lived a simple life with 5 children. During the Great Depression, Fulmer’s life became more difficult. Unemployment had hit an all-time high and those who kept their jobs had to suffer terrible working conditions. Long working hours, low pay and low sanitation in the mills were just a few factors that contributed to these inhumane working conditions. Fulmer describes in an interview with the Federal Writers Project that he worked as a "slave to death" during that period as he would have to work long hours with unpaid overtime. Like many others at the time, the church held importance to Fulmer, and he was a regular patron of the Mayer Memorial Lutheran Church. He served as a member of the church council and made sure his children would go to Sunday School. When the state of the economy was at an all-time low, Franklin D Roosevelt took office and helped bring America out of the Great Depression. During Roosevelt's term, Fulmer's working conditions improved, and his life regained some semblance of normality.

Death
Joseph E Fulmer died of an illness on March 14th, 1952. He is currently buried in the West End Cemetery in Newberry, South Carolina.

FDR and the New Deal
The Great Depression ravaged the nation. Unemployment was at an all-time high and the public had lost trust in the Federal Government. In the election of 1932, many voters wanted change which resulted in the election of Franklin D Roosevelt. Roosevelt promised change and he acted upon it. Roosevelt issued a plan for economic recovery called the New Deal. Roosevelt first addressed the banking problem. During the Great Depression, many wanted to withdraw money from the bank at the same time. This resulted in banks being unable to cope and shutting down. This left many of the public poor and bitter with the banks they had trusted. Roosevelt closed every bank in the nation and promised to only open them when the problem had been resolved. Such swift action had been unheard of in the previous administration which earned Roosevelt the trust of the people. Roosevelt then abolished the Gold Standard. This allowed the U.S dollar to gain value and saved the currency. According to an article published by the Oxford Review of Economic Policy, by abandoning the gold standard Roosevelt made the U.S a “a safe haven for gold, especially from a troubled Europe." Roosevelt’s action helped stimulate the recovery of the U.S economy. Roosevelt’s actions were not all good and he did make a few mistakes. One such mistake was Roosevelt’s fear of spending. Roosevelt hated budget deficits and was strict on Government Spending. His beliefs led to the 1937-38 recession which spurred him to reconsider his policy. Later, Roosevelt came to accept that spending was necessary and was able to get America out of the recession.

The Textile Strike of 1934
Before the Great Depression, the United States had a large of number of mills that made yarn and cotton. Thousands worked in these mills, but most were unhappy with their profession. Low pay and poor working conditions made these jobs far from appealing. These conditions only grew worse when the Great Depression hit. The Carolinas were home to a significant number of mills which were hit especially hard by the Great Depression. Unemployment ran rampant across the Carolinian mills and by the 1930’s “nearly one out of four North Carolinians had no job.

Many were too afraid of losing their jobs to voice out any complaints about the harsh conditions they endured. Many looked to Franklin D Roosevelt for help. Roosevelt delivered with the NIRA or National Industrial Recovery Act which guaranteed worker’s rights to unionize and engage in collective bargaining.

As time went on, tension grew between mill owners and workers. Many owners threatened to fire those who joined unions, and some refused to negotiate with any union representation. This discouraged many from joining unions as " they saw daily the frightening reality of what life might be like if they lost their jobs.” In July of 1934, this tension hit a boiling point. A rallying cry for a strike rang out among workers in New England and the Deep South. The strike occurred on September third. This escalated into shooting from both mill owners and workers. The blood fest resulted in many deaths and spurred Roosevelt to take action. Roosevelt formed a board to resolve the tension between mill owners and workers. Although the board was sympathetic to the strikers, no concrete action was taken to resolve their grievances. Textile unions suffered a grand defeat and lost importance. Now the textile industry is almost nonexistent in the Carolinas and unions have become much less prevalent.