A.J. MUSTE BEGAN his lifelong pursuit of Christian principles in 1909 when he was ordained a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church. He became increasingly uncomfortable with the church's rigid Calvinist preaching, however, and in 1914 left it to lead a Congregational Church. Muste was also inspired by the Quakers and became a pacifist with the outbreak of World War I. At that time, he also began working with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a nontypical union between a religious group and a civil liberties group. Three years later, he took a church post with the Quakers in Rhode Island.

In 1919, Muste became involved in the labor movement, a cause he would pursue for the rest of his life. His involvement began when the ...