I Am Committed to Becoming a Historian
As a Ph.D. student in U.S. history, I would like to continue to explore the intersections of culture and economics in U.S. history, especially as they relate to working-class life and consumption. Although I am now committed to becoming a historian, my academic background has been quite varied. Disillusioned with the often reductionist truths of physical science, I transferred from the School of Engineering to State College after my first year. As an undergraduate, I not only majored in history, but also concentrated in mathematics, especially as it related to economics. For a year, I acted as an economic research assistant, and, following that, I worked on a joint project with the Federal Reserve Bank and the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) doing empirical research in labor economics.
During the summer after my junior year, I received a research grant from Columbia, the Edwin Robbins Prize, for my senior thesis: "New York Organized Labor and Prohibition Resistance: The 'No Beer, No Work' Movement of 1919." A forgotten moment in labor history, it was a fascinating intersection of culture, gender, and class, examining the untidy boundary between "economic" and "social" life. Some local trade-unionists co-opted a catchy slogan, "No Beer, No Work," with the intent of fomenting a national general strike, attempting to save the saloon, galvanize class consciousness, and lead workers into a labor party. The strike more than failed; it never occurred. However, teasing out the relationships between the primary documents excited me like nothing I had ever done before. Though I continued to work at the Federal Reserve the following year, I knew the historian's methods, and not the economist's, were what I wanted to pursue in my graduate work.
This year I received a Fulbright Scholarship to research working-class history at the University of Toronto. Presently, my research centers on the rise of Canadian nationalism in Toronto within U.S.-dominated unions after WWII. I examine how anti-Communist discourses restricted and/or enabled nationalist movements within the union hierarchy, and how that affected transnational power relations and local economic/political action. My abstract is under consideration for a conference on transnationalism, Crossing Borders, to take place in February at the University of Toronto. I also plan to present a paper, based on my senior thesis, on working-class resistance to Prohibition at the "New Frontiers in Graduate History" conference at York University in March.
Scheiber, H., H. Vatter, and H. Underwood Faulkner. American Economic History. New York : Harper &
Throughout the American labor movement, there have been consistent interest groups involved with instituting unions and those advocating for their destruction. No labor movement has succeeded without battle between groups that desire control. The early 20th Century is no different--with the massive influx of immigrants and quick birth of the industrial revolution, the years 1900-1920 truly exemplified the conflict between workers and companies. This essay plans to detail the motives and tactics of four central groups fighting for control of worker’s rights by using the text Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David von Drehle.
Yellin, Samuel. American Labor Struggles New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co. 1936; Reprinted New York: Arno Press, 1970.
Zieger, R. (2007). For jobs and freedom: Race and Labor in America since 1865. Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky.
The working class has served as an integral part of our capitalist society; as the building blocks, and producers of the goods that supply and support our country, the working class and working poor have faced many struggles to gain working rights. The histories of labor movements in the United States are often silenced from the mainstream culture; while we take our current union laws for granted, long forgotten are the bloody battles that took place to secure these rights. The ideological issues facing our modern day working class have shown to stem from the same socially constructed ideals that existed during past labor wars, such as the Colorado Coal Strike. The Coal Strike of 1913-1914 culminated in the Ludlow Massacre; this event showed how media coverage played off of cultural stereotypes of the working class and resulted in the raised consciousness among the strikers. The way the strike was presented to the public was shrouded in cultural symbology of poverty, and through these very symbols the strikers formed an identity of solidarity.
Tolvanen, A. (1992). The rise of Native Self-determination and the crisis of the Canadian Political Regime. Culture, Volume XII (No. 1), 63-77.
Beginning in the late 1700’s and growing rapidly even today, labor unions form the backbone for the American workforce and continue to fight for the common interests of workers around the country. As we look at the history of these unions, we see powerful individuals such as Terrence Powderly, Samuel Gompers, and Eugene Debs rise up as leaders in a newfound movement that protected the rights of the common worker and ensured better wages, more reasonable hours, and safer working conditions for those people (History). The rise of these labor unions also warranted new legislation that would protect against child labor in factories and give health benefits to workers who were either retired or injured, but everyone was not on board with the idea of foundations working to protect the interests of the common worker. Conflict with their industries lead to many strikes across the country in the coal, steel, and railroad industries, and several of these would ultimately end up leading to bloodshed. However, the existence of labor unions in the United States and their influence on their respective industries still resonates today, and many of our modern ideals that we have today carry over from what these labor unions fought for during through the Industrial Revolution.
The term autopsy also referred to as “Post-mortem examination”, “necropsy”, “obduction” and “ autopsia cadaverum” originates from the Latin language and denotes to “open, cut/dissect”. Another origin is from two Greek terms “aut” (self) and “opsie” (to see, to conduct a personal inspection) hence, autopsy refers to the opening/dissection of a cadaver to see for oneself, through observation, the cause of death or the nature of disease contrary to what has been reported by another party. Autopsy practice has been in existence since over 3000 years ago. It was however, not until the Renaissance in Europe that autopsy became standard practice (1,2). The link between clinical syndromes and postmortem findings is credited to the Dutch physician Herman Boerhaave (3).
To draw into the poet’s world, the poet must draw relations between them, including the reader, making them feel what the poet feels, thinking what the poet thinks. Wilfred Owen does this very creatively and very effectively, in both of his poems, Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori and Anthem of Doomed Youth, who is seen as an idol to many people today, as a great war poet, who expresses his ideas that makes the reader feel involved in the moment, feeling everything that he does. His poems describe the horror of war, and the consequences of it, which is not beneficial for either side. He feels sorrow and anger towards the war and its victims, making the reader also feel the same.
The poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen portrays the horrors of World War I with the horrific imagery and the startling use of words he uses. He describes his experience of a gas attack where he lost a member of his squadron and the lasting impact it had on him. He describes how terrible the conditions were for the soldiers and just how bad it was. By doing this he is trying to help stop other soldiers from experiencing what happened in a shortage of time.
Although, the growth of business was booming and consumption was extremely high during the 1920’s employers failed to equally distribute the benefits to its industrial workers who got the short end of the stick and did not see any profit from productivity. Since there was no law at the time established on how many hours a person was to work and get paid, employers would overwork and underpay the laborers. This became a major problem because it brought about high unemployment rates, which for laborers, the shortage of jobs meant strong competition among each other for finding and keeping a job, and low wages, which brought down consumption.
In the early 1930s, the Great Depression was in full swing. Businesses were cutting wages and laying off workers in order to maintain high profits. Workers faced sweatshop conditions, low wages, long hours, and the constant threat of being laid off. The conditions of the coal industry in Minneapolis were typical for the time. In the Teamster Rebellion by Farrell Dobbs; a member of the Communist League of America and one of the leaders of the 1934 strike describes his own situation: “We were just squeaking by when I was cut to forty-eight hours a week. It was a welcome physical relief since coal heavers had to work like mules, but there was also a two-dollar cut in weekly pay…. The thin flesh of mere subsistence was being scraped down to the bare bones of outright poverty…. On top of all that, I could expect to be laid off in the spring…. And I could be fired at any time without recourse merely at the employer’s whim. (Pg.30-31)”
Thompson, John Herd, and Mark Paul Richard. "Canadian History in North American Context." In Canadian studies in the new millennium. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008. 37-64.
Legal marriage is the right of all Americans regardless of their sexual orientation. Gay marriage is certainly a hot button issue. It invokes an emotional dialogue filled with passion, rage, hate and fear. However, at the base of it all, are two people who are in a committed relationship living normal and productive lives and contributing to society in a positive manner. This issue is being debated in every state of the union, and will eventually go to the Supreme Court.
Wilfred Owen’s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” makes the reader acutely aware of the impact of war. The speaker’s experiences with war are vivid and terrible. Through the themes of the poem, his language choices, and contrasting the pleasant title preceding the disturbing content of the poem, he brings attention to his views on war while during the midst of one himself. Owen uses symbolism in form and language to illustrate the horrors the speaker and his comrades go through; and the way he describes the soldiers, as though they are distorted and damaged, parallels how the speaker’s mind is violated and haunted by war.