The Development of American Labor; A Publication of the American Historical Association's Service Center For Teachers of History, Publication Number 48
New York: The Macmillan Company, 1963. First Printing [Stated]. Wraps. Format is approximately 6 inches by 9 inches. [2], 28 pages. Footnotes. Table. Selected Reading List. Cover has some wear and soiling. Includes sections on: Responses to the Industrial Revolution, Labor Unions and the Industrial Revolution, The American Federation of Labor, The Growth of Unions, Attitude of Management, Attitude of Government, The End of the Old Labor Movement, The New Labor Movement, Craft vs. Industrial Organization, Political Activity, Social Welfare Legislation, Law of Labor Relations, Management and Labor Unions since the 1930's, and Collective Bargaining. The American Historical Association has a long-standing commitment to teaching and history education at all levels, and supports teaching in a wide variety of ways. From its inception, the Association has been committed to the collection, preservation, and dissemination of historical documents. As the principal umbrella organization for the profession, the AHA’s history reflects that of the profession as a whole. In 1889, the association was incorporated in the District of Columbia by an act of Congress: “for the promotion of historical studies, the collection and preservation of historical manuscripts and for kindred purposes in the interest of American history and of history in America.” The act provided that the association should have its offices in Washington, DC, and that it should make reports regarding historical matters to the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, who should then transmit to Congress such reports as he or she saw fit. The teaching of history has been an AHA concern since its inception. Labor was not alone in searching for a path to follow. The industrial revolution had brought forth great opportunities for progress - more production, more profit, more work. It also carried in its wake frequent loss of skills, monotony of mass production, long hours of toil, dismal working conditions, and the stench of industrial slums. The farm had had horrible conditions too but not in such concentrated doses. What to do perplexed many sensitive individuals early in the nineteenth century as in the years following. Must poverty go hand in hand with progress? To some, the answer was in the affirmative. To many members of the laissez faire school of economics, it was a dismal but nonetheless clear fact that there was only a fixed amount of money available for wages for workers; to give them more would only permit them to propagate more, which in turn would inevitably create greater pressure on the already limited amount of funds available. Consequently, one would only pay them enough to subsist. Other members of the laissez-faire school of economics painted a more optimistic picture of the lot of the worker - that the law of supply and demand working freely in the market place would, in the long run, all other things being equal, help the worker. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, this approach took on a Darwinian flavor. The Social Darwinists, as this group was called, argued that the best rise to the top and that the dregs settle on the bottom. Therefore, do not help those at the bottom. If they are good, they will rise. If not, they are getting what they deserve. Do not send to know for whom the bell tolls, preached the Social Darwinist. It tolled for whom it should. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Industrial Revolution, Labor Unions, American Federation of Labor, Labor Movement, Industrial Organization, Political Activity, Social Welfare, Legislation, Labor Relations, Collective Bargaining
[Book #82638]
Price: $35.00