Books in the Working Class in American History series

A book at the intersection of business, labor, and women's history.

A study of James P Cannon's early years (1890-1928) that details how the life of a Wobbly hobo agitator gave way to leadership in the emerging communist underground of the 1919 era.

The transformation of slavery and free labour in the Upper South

Focusing on the operation and influence of the Knights of Labor-the leading labor organization of the nineteenth century-Workingmen's Democracy explores the dreams, achievements, and failures of a movement that sought to renew the democratic potential of American institutions. Runner-up in both the John H. Dunning Prize and Albert J. Beveridge Award competitions

A detailed account of labor corruption in the 1930s and the zealous journalist who railed against it

A bold reconsideration of the roots and realities of American anarchism

Traces the political journey of a leading worker radical whose life and experiences encapsulate radicalism's rise and fall in the United States. Integrating indigenous and international factors that determined the fate of American communism, this book provides an understanding of the basis for radicalism among twentieth-century American workers.

A spectacular example of collective violence, the Great Strikes of 1877 was the first national strike and the first major strikes against the railroad industry. This title investigates topics ranging from long-term effects on state militias and national guard units, to developing tension between capitalism and racial equality in United States.

How the Cold War affected local-level union politics

The role of gender in the history of the working class world

Exploring a path not taken in Appalachian economic development--one that might have led away from underdevelopment

Exploring the tight ties between wilderness use and class

In November 1933, the Socialist Party of Bridgeport, Connecticut won a stunning victory in the municipal election, putting slate roofer Jasper McLevy in the mayor's seat. This book probes the factors that led to this electoral victory, uncovering a legacy of activist unionism, and business manipulation of local politics and taxes.

The dynamic relationship between union strategy and the ideals of radicalism

Explores developments affecting American workers. This title explains how the ideals of free labor, free speech, freedom of association, and freedom of contract have been interpreted and canonized in ways that unfailingly reduce the capacity for workers' collective action while silently removing impediments to employers coercion of workers.

Drawing on a substantial number of oral history interviews as well as on manuscript sources, local newspapers, and government documents, this title explores black men and women's changing relationship to industrial work in three sawmill communities (Elizabethtown, South Carolina, Chapman, Alabama, and Bogalusa, Louisiana).

Traces the shifting occupational structures and work choices that facilitated the emergence of a white-collar workforce. This title describes the educational goals, workplace cultures, leisure activities, and living situations that melded disparate groups of young men and women into a new class of clerks and salespeople.

Reveals the breadth of working-class black experiences and activities in Cleveland and the extent to which these were shaped by traditions and values brought from the South. The author shows how migrants' moves north established complex networks of kin and friends and infused the city with a highly visible southern African-American culture.

Is class outmoded as a basis for understanding labor history? This significant new collection emphatically says "No!" Touching on such subjects as migrant labor, religion, ethnicity, agricultural history, and gender, these thirteen essays by former students of David Montgomery--a preeminent leader in labor circles as well as in academia--demonstrate the sheer diversity of the field today.