These books reveal the history of relevant organizations, struggles, events, and economic activities that shaped the initial stages of the labor movement in the United States.
Workingmen's Democracy: The Knights of Labor and American Politics by
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.
Pure and Simple Politics: The American Federation of Labor and Political Activisim, 1881-1917 by
This study explores the political evolution of the U.S. labor movement, focusing on its dominant organization, the American Federation of Labor, during a key period (1881 to 1917) of transformation in U.S. political history. Julie Greene documents the AFL's entrance into electoral politics and the emergence of the important alliance between the AFL and the Democratic party, explaining the causes and impact of these developments.
May Day: A Short History of the International Workers' Holiday, 1886-1986 by
The only account in print of the origins of May Day, with highlights of its first century from around the world.
Revolution in Seattle: A Memoir by
The Seattle General Strike of 1919 was America's first citywide labor stoppage, a defiant example of workers' power in the aftermath of World War I. Told in gripping detail by one of the era's great labor journalists, Revolution in Seattle captures the dramatic dynamics of workers organizing strike committees to take control of their city from below. Republished on the tenth anniversary of the 1999 "Battle in Seattle" against the World Trade Organization, Harvey O'Connor's book offers lessons and inspiration to a new generation of rebels. Harvey O'Connor was a seminal labor journalist and historian, whose work exposed the greed of the depression-era "robber barons" and labor struggles nationwide.
Beasts of the Field: A Narrative History of California Farm Workers, 1769-1913 by
Written by one of America's preeminent labor historians, this book is the definitive account of one of the most spectacular, captivating, complex and strangely neglected stories in Western history--the emergence of migratory farm workers and the development of California agriculture. Street has systematically worked his way through a mountain of archival materials--more than 500 manuscript collections, scattered in 22 states, including Spain and Mexico--to follow the farmworker story from its beginnings on Spanish missions into the second decade of the twentieth century. The result is a comprehensive tour de force. Scene by scene, the epic narrative clarifies and breathes new life into a controversial and instructive saga long surrounded by myth, conjecture, and scholarly neglect. With its panoramic view spanning 144 years and moving from the US-Mexico border to Oregon, Beasts of the Field reveals diverse patterns of life and labor in the fields that varied among different crops, regions, time periods, and racial and ethic groups. Enormous in scope, packed with surprising twists and turns, and devastating in impact, this compelling, revelatory work of American social history will inform generations to come of the history of California and the nation.
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