Jack Lennon
Jack Kieran Lennon (4 April 1197 – 20 November 1275) was an ardunan revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the general secretary for the Labour Party of Ardun from 1223 to 1242, and then as Head of State of the Commonwealth of Ardun from 1245 through 1266. The head of the syndicalist faction during the Ardunan Civil War, Lennon is considered a central figure in the Ardunan Revolution.
Ideologically a Marschist, he developed a variant of syndicalism known as Lennonism.
Early Life
Childhood
Born to a moderately prosperous middle class family in Gwenfeld, Lennon was the son of lawyer Brandon Lennon and his wife, Fianna Lennon. An athletic, headstrong youth, he was known to get into fights with his peers. Despite this, he was a dedicated student, and graduated school with honours before moving to Caerun to study Law at the Royal Academy.Education and Political Organizing
At the Royal Academy, Lennon became involved in student organizations and debate groups, where he was first introduced to the writings of Nestor Partes and George Snowden. Living in a flat in downtown Caerun, he frequented the taverns and cafes where students and factory workers mingled, where he met his lifelong friend and political ally, steel worker Owen Booker. The two would inadvertently help radicalise each other, and participate in organizing for the local unions. Elected as the representative of the West End Student Society, Lennon participated in protests against government crackdowns on illicit reading material, and was subsequently was arrested, though he was ultimately released and allowed to finish his studies, due to his father's contacts in the Caerun courts. in 1215, Lennon volunteered for the historic Alan Cormac campaign, which drew massive grassroots support from most of the left leaning youth of Ardun. After Cormac's assassination, Lennon wrote an article for the labour newspaper The Caerun Miller, where he blamed political elites and the Royal Directorate, the ardunan secret police, for the murder.The article became unexpectedly popular, and brought Lennon into contact with members of the Fairness Society, a precursor to the Labour Party of Ardun. Lennon would eventually graduate with a degree in Law, and spend the next year working at his uncle's law firm.Early Political Action
The Dularan Revolt
In 1217, revolts broke out in Dulara in response to the assassination of General Arlando Camares. While the dularan government dealt with the unrest along the coast, a collection of students, workers, and peasants occupied the region of Sorano, establishing the anarchist Free Territory of Sorano. This uprising drew in volunteers from many neighbouring countries. Lennon and a few close friends left Ardun to fight for the revolutionaries, where they participated in the conflict for the better part of the year. During this time, Lennon wrote his first book, Reflections in Old Sorano. By the following spring, the Free Territory was violently defeated by the reinvigorated Dularan army, and Lennon fled the country to avoid the brutal repression of the government against the defeated revolutionaries. Though the Soranish experiment was a failure, Lennon would use the lessons he learned as a combatant for the rest of his life, writing a treatise titled "The Guerilla Fighter's Manual" that, though immediately banned in most countries in Bruna, became widely shared in underground circles, and would become the unofficial guide for labour insurrections for the next 50 years.Union Organizing and Parliamentary Career
Back in Ardun, Lennon became an active participant in his own country's nascent labour movement. He served as a legal representative and active participant in 6 separate union conflicts, including the infamous Callagan County Wars, where he prosecuted the sixteen provincial troopers who opened fire on striking workers. By 1223, Lennon had garnered a reputation as a charismatic debater and public speaker, and union leader Allister "Big Al" Cook invited him into the recently re-established General Labour Congress as a council member and legal representative. A year later, Lennon participated in the Workers' Congress of 1224, and played a leading role in the foundation of the United Labour Front. In 1219, Lennon became affiliated with the Labour Party of Ardun. With the country entering a period of rapid economic decline and radicalization, he used local events to drive a narrative of systemic decay, which helped him be elected into the Ardunan Parliament in 1223, unseating the incumbent conservative Connor Hendry. His first years in parliament were marked by his firebrand support for social reforms, such as the Social Welfare Act and the National Health Act. The former would narrowly pass the Lower House before being vetoed by the House of Lords, while the latter would be soundly defeated at the Lower House.Personal Life
After being elected into Parliament, Lennon moved into a small apartment in the Ardunan capital of Valken, where he dedicated a lot of his time to either political work, organizing with the ULF, or spending time with other Ulfies at the local tavern, Malton's Prospect. His personal life was kept generally private, but he corresponded with friends and family back in Caerun often. At Valken, Lennon re-acquainted with Mary-Elizabeth Dunbar, an old colleague from his university days who was currently working as a teacher in poor neighbourhoods, and organizing for the local teachers' union. Though they were initially in a professional relationship (Lennon was working on bringing the Valken teachers' union into the fold of the ULF), they soon became romantically involved. They married in 1229, at a chancel in Caerun. In the following decade, they had two children, Olivia and Peter Lennon. They would have a third child, Owen, during the civil war.Revolutionary Activity
Lennon's disillusionment with institutional politics led him to dedicate more time and effort towards strengthening the ULF and driving the council towards more militant activities, manifesting in the creation of the Red Guard. By the late 1230's, the ULF was taking an active role in arming the working class, with their members participating in community protection, intimidation campaigns against industrialists and politicians, and criminal activities such as bank robbery. Around this time, Integralist groups were also becoming more organised, and leading violent attacks on immigrant communities and poor neighbourhoods. This would lead to clashes between the ULF and nationalist militias, which would often result in shootouts. Despite his frustrations with Parliament, Lennon managed to lead the charge in the passing of the Recovering Wage Earner's Act, which required employers to pay their workers sick leave, as well as some minor employment protections. Lennon's efforts to get the act through the House of Lords were marked by bribery, blackmail, and outright extortion, which caused him to be seen very negatively by some sections of the middle classes and nobility. Liberal MP Donall Buchanan famously said "I am not sure what Minister Lennon is doing serving in the House of Commons. This man should be sitting in the House of Lords, for he is King of the Ulfies!" Though Lennon was a frequent subject of of criticism from liberals and monarchists in parliament, this only made him more popular to the disaffected working class, leading him to become the face of the Labour Party by the end of the 1230's. The 1236 Labour Party Congress saw him elected to the post of General Secretary of the party by a wide margin (by that point, most non-syndicalists within the party had been driven away by the Ulfies).Mental characteristics
Gender Identity
Male
Relationships
Alignment
Syndicalist
Species
Ethnicity
Life
6897
6975
78 years old
Birthplace
Gwenfeld
Place of Death
Spouses
Elizabeth Lennon
(Wife)
Siblings
Children
Belief/Deity
Concordian Manifism
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
- Prime Minister
- Chairman of Congress
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments