Isaac Dearborn Chamberlain (October 20, 1840 - July 1918) was an American labor unionist.
Born in Fredericktown, Ohio, Chamberlain's father, Uriah, was an anti-slavery activist and a founder of Oberlin College. Isaac served with the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment during the American Civil War, while also working as a correspondent for newspapers including the Erie Gazette and The Cleveland Leader. After the war, he became a schoolteacher, then moved to Colorado, to become an editor and publisher.[1]
Chamberlain joined the Knights of Labor, and in 1897, he was elected as General Worthy Foreman of the union, the second-most senior position.[2] In 1898, he opposed the American occupation of Cuba, and also the idea of a large standing army, which he feared would be used against striking workers.[3]
In 1900, there was a dispute between the leader of the union, General Master Workman John N. Parsons, and its secretary-treasurer, John Hayes, with courts ruling in Hayes' favor. Chamberlain took no part in the dispute, but on May 26, 1900, he invited both parties to a meeting of the union's executive. Parsons did not attend, and the executive voted to expel him from the union, with Chamberlain becoming General Master Workman.[4] He served until the union's annual general assembly, in November. In 1902, he was instead elected as secretary-treasurer, also serving as editor of the union's newspaper.[5] He held this post until the union was dissolved, in 1917,[6] dying the following year.[7]
Chamberlain was also a freemason, a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and a Christian Scientist.