A concise history of labor and work in America from the birth of the Republic to the Industrial Age and beyond From the days of Thomas Jefferson, Americans believed that they could sustain a capitalist industrial economy without the class conflict or negative socioeconomic consequences experienced in Europe. This dream came crashing down in 1877 when the Great Strike, one of the most militant labor disputes in US history, convulsed the nation’s railroads. In The Dawning of American Labor a leading scholar of American labor history draws upon first-hand accounts and the latest scholarship to offer a fascinating look at how Americans perceived and adapted to the shift from a largely agrarian economy to one dominated by manufacturing. For the generations following the Great Strike, “the Labor Problem” and the idea of class relations became a critical issue facing the nation. As Professor Greenberg makes clear in this lively, highly accessible historical exploration, the 1877 strike forever cast a shadow across one of the most deeply rooted articles of national faith—the belief in American exceptionalism. What conditions produced the faith in a classless society? What went wrong? These questions lie at the heart of The Dawning of American Labor. Provides a concise, comprehensive, and completely up-to-date synthesis of the latest scholarship on the early development of industrialization in the United States Considers how working people reacted, both in the workplace and in their communities, as the nation’s economy made its shift from an agrarian to an industrial base Includes a formal Bibliographical Essay—a handy tool for student research Works as a stand-alone text or an ideal supplement to core curricula in US History, US Labor, and 19th-Century America Accessible introductory text for students in American history classes and beyond, The Dawning of American Labor is an excellent introduction to the history of labor in the United States for students and general readers of history alike.

Publisher Description

Here are the life stories of the men and women who have led the labor movement in America from Reconstruction to recent times, from William H. Sylvis, the first major labor leader, to Cesar Chavez, who organized California's farm workers in the 1960s. All of the chapters have been written expressly for this volume by leading authorities, several of whom are authors of booklength biographies of their subjects. Taken together these readable yet authoritative life studies provide a broad overview of the American labor movement that will appeal to the student and lay reader as well as to the specialist in social history and labor and industrial relations.

Joseph Rayback’s history of the American labor movement. A compact and comprehensive chronicle of where labor has been and where it is today.

Covering figures, events, policies, and organizations, this comprehensive reference tool enhances readers' appreciation of the role economics has played in U.S. history since 1776. A study of the U.S. economy is important to understanding U.S. politics, society, and culture. To make that study easier, this dictionary offers concise essays on more than 1,200 economics-related topics. Entries cover a broad array of pivotal information on historical events, legislation, economic terms, labor unions, inventions, interest groups, elections, court cases, economic policies and philosophies, economic institutions, and global processes. Economics-focused biographies and company profiles are featured as sidebars, and the work also includes both a chronology of major events in U.S. economic history and a selective bibliography. Encompassing U.S. history since 1776 with an emphasis on recent decades, entries range from topics related to the early economic formation of the republic to those that explore economic aspects of information technology in the 21st century. The work is written to be clearly understood by upper-level high school students, but offers sufficient depth to appeal to undergraduates. In addition, the general public will be attracted by informative discussions of everything from clean energy to what keeps interest rates low.

This book, designed to give a survey history of American labor from colonial times to the present, is uniquely well suited to speak to the concerns of today’s teachers and students. As issues of growing inequality, stagnating incomes, declining unionization, and exacerbated job insecurity have increasingly come to define working life over the last 20 years, a new generation of students and teachers is beginning to seek to understand labor and its place and ponder seriously its future in American life. Like its predecessors, this ninth edition of our classic survey of American labor is designed to introduce readers to the subject in an engaging, accessible way.

"For anyone who believes that there was no important labor movement before Roosevelt, or before Gompers, or before the Knights of Labor, this well-documented work should prove a shocker. And for those who look to the past for enlightenment to guide us through our troubled tomorrows, this book is a reservoir of historic information and insights." -- New Leader "Beyond Equality is a masterpiece. . . . A book of bold and brilliant originality, it is now shaping the perspective of a new generation of graduate students." -- David Brion Davis, author of The Problem of Slavery in Western Culture