History A421 Jack McKivigan
Spring 2002 Cavanaugh 531
CA 217 Off. hrs.: 2:30-3:30 M&W
1:00-2:15 PM M&W Phone # 274-5860
Jmckivig@iupui.edu
HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN WORKING CLASS
A. COURSE
DESCRIPTION:
The History of the American Working Class is designed to introduce
students to the major historical transformations in the lives of American
working people from the colonial era to modern times. This course will survey
the history of work and the worker in the United States, devoting special
attention to the diversity of the American working class in terms of
occupation, gender, ethnicity and
region. The History of the American Working Class will explore such issues such
as shifting patterns of work, working class life and community, the evolution
of organized labor movements, and the relationship of workers and unions to the
state. Beginning with a brief study of work life in the colonial era, this
course will then explore the ways in which the nature of work changed as a
result of the market revolution and the rise of industrialization. Considerable attention will be devoted to
the rise of a labor movement in the nineteenth century and the conflict of
workers with emerging industrial capitalism.
The course will chart the successes and failures of labor=s struggle for better wages, hours, working
conditions, and benefits through the twentieth century and assess the status of
the American worker at the start of the new millennium. Effort will be made to connect labor
history to the broader patterns of American political, social, and economic
history.
B. COURSE
REQUIREMENTS:
The success of this course depends upon the completion of reading
assignments and participation in class discussion by the students. If a student falls behind in her/his
readings he/she will soon find it difficult to follow the subject matter of
class discussion or join in it.
Students should feel free to talk to the instructor about any course
related problems especially in cases when a student believes that her/his
assignment grades do not accurately reflect his/her performance in the
course. Students should plan to meet
individually with the instructor at least once during the semester to discuss
the progress of their short paper.
There will be four graded assignments for students in this course of
the semester:
(1) & (2) Students are required to take a mid‑term
examination tentatively scheduled for March 4th and a final examination during
Examination Week on May 3rd at 1-3 PM. On both examinations, students will prepare answers for two out
of four essay questions presented by the instructor. The general content of these questions will be drawn from the
topics dealt with in course reading and class discussion. Each question will be framed to encourage
students to exercise their own judgment and interpretative skills in dealing
with an important subject of historical debate. The subject matter covered on each of the two examinations will not
be cumulative. (Value: each examination
worth 30% of course grade.)
(3) In addition to the two
examinations, there will be five take‑home quizzes during the course of
the semester. The subject matter of
these quizzes will be the current course reading assignment. The format of these quizzes will be short
answer or mini‑essay. There will
be no make‑up for these quizzes but the instructor will count only the
student's four best scores to determine this portion of the grade. (Value: 20% of the course grade.)
(4) Students are required to prepare a short paper (5-7 pages)
describing and assessing the working class consciousness of one American labor
leader. The subject of this paper
should be selected in consultation with the instructor. The assignment will require the student to
do research in pertinent secondary literature dealing with the subject and
his/her historical period. The primary
goals of the assignment are to evaluate the role and impact of working class
identification in the life of the subject and to assess the subject=s contribution to the American labor
movement. A brief description is due by
February 18th. The essay is due on April 22th.
(Value: 20 % of the course grade.)
The instructor regards deadlines as extremely important. Failure to take an examination or turn in a
quiz by the announced deadline, without prior permission from the
instructor, will automatically result in a penalty in grading. Although specific grade values have been
apportioned to each assignment, elements such as effort, interest, improvement,
attendance, and participation in class discussion all will be weighed by the
instructor in determining final course grades.
C. ASSIGNED
READINGS:
All of the following books are paperbacks
and are available at the IUPUI Bookstore.
(1)
Bruce
Laurie, Artisans into Workers: Labor in Nineteenth-Century America
(2) David Papke, The Pullman Case
(3) James R. Green, The World of the
Worker: Labor in Twentieth-Century America
(4) Melvin Dubofsky and Warren VanTine, Labor
Leaders in America
(5) Toni Gilpin et al, On Strike for
Respect
In addition to the required books, the instructor will distribute
several shorter readings to the class during the course of the semester.
D. COURSE
SCHEDULE: The following is the prospective schedule of
class topics, reading assignments, and written assignment deadlines for the
course of the semester.
Jan 7 Introduction
Jan 9 Is There An American Working Class?
Readings: Laurie, AIntroduction@
Jan 14 Forced Labor Black and White in
Early America
Readings: Morgan article
Jan 16 The Pre-Industrial Worker: The
Household Economy
Readings: Laurie, Chaps. 1 & 2
Jan 21 Martin Luther King Day B Holiday
Jan 23 The Pre-Industrial Worker: The
Handicraft System
Jan 28 The Early Industrial Revolution
Readings: Laurie, Chap. 3
Jan 30 America=s First Proletariat
Feb 4 The Civil War and the Crisis of Free
Labor
Readings: Dubofsky and Van Tine, Chap. 1; Laurie, Chap. 4
Feb 6 Reconstruction and the Decline of
Free Labor
Feb 11 Workers and the Emerging National
Marketplace
Readings: Laurie, Chap. 5; Dubofsky and Van Tine, Chap. 2
Feb 13 The Knights of Labor and the
Challenge of Labor Reformism
Feb 18 Craft Consciousness and the Rise of
the AFL
Readings: Papke; Laurie, Chap. 6, Dubofsky and Van Tine, Chap. 3
Assignment Term paper prospectus due
Feb 20 The Industrial Battleground
Feb 25 Why No Socialism in the United
States?
Readings: Foner article; Laurie, Chap. 7(Epilogue); Dubofsky and Van
Tine, Chap. 4
Feb 27 Catch-up & rRview
Mar 4 First Examination
Mar 6 Labor in the Progressive Era
Readings: Dubofsky and Van Tine, Chap. 5
Mar 11 & 13 Spring Break
Mar 18 The
New American Worker: Ethnic Diversity
Readings: Dubofsky and Van Tine, Chap. 7; DeVault article
Mar 20 The
New American Worker: Women Workers
Mar 25 The
Age of Welfare Capitalism
Readings: Green, Chaps. 1-4; Dubofsky and Van Tine, Chap. 6.
Mar 27 Lean
Times
Apr 8 The Great Depression: New Deal to
the Rescue
Readings: Green, Chap. 5; Dubofsky and Van Tine, Chaps. 8 & 9.
Apr 10 The
Great Depression: Unions to the Rescue
Apr 15 Labor
at War
Readings: Green, Chap. 6; Dubofsky and Van Tine, Chaps. 10 & 12
Apr 17 Free
Enterprise vs. Organized Labor
Apr 22 Big
Labor and State Unionism
Readings: Green, Chap. 7; Dubofsky and Van Tine, Chaps. 11, 13, 14,
& 15
Assignment Term paper due
Apr 24 Blue
Collar Blues
Apr 29 The
Future of Work in America
Readings: Gilpin et al., On Strike for Respect
May 3 Final Examination
1-3 PM