Labor History Commons^™

Propagating Labor: How The Craft Brewery Movement Attracted And Grew A Workforce To Fuel Its Rise, Timothy J. Vlieger

Graduate Masters Theses

The craft beer movement grew from just a few tiny microbreweries and disparate homebrewing clubs to a nationwide phenomenon accounting for over ten thousand businesses and hundreds of thousands of employees. The arrival of this movement in the 1980s coincided with drastic changes in the economy, which was moving away from the manufacturing base that enabled postwar prosperity and developing a “New Economy” of high-tech and service sector employment. Within this economic transition, the social contract between capital and labor was being rewritten and what constituted a good job was being redefined. Employment in the emerging craft brewing industry represented …

Industrial Democracy: Unionization, Power, And Control In Rockefeller’S Southern Colorado, Ava Welty

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

By 1914, democracy was clearly connected to America’s political ethos, and Wilson and Frank Walsh only amplified the term. Against this backdrop, labor and CF&I sought to define their movement as aligned with the national project of industrial democracy, despite having divergent understandings of the term. CF&I and Rockefeller built upon decades of social betterment, in addition to new ideas of company unionism to create their definition of industrial democracy, while workers returned to union recognition as a tool of power to construct their definition of industrial democracy. This paper argues that conflicting definitions of industrial democracy after the Ludlow …

The Coffee Crisis: What Starbucks Coffee Company Teaches Us About Exploitation, Chloe Baker

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The average American consumer associates the coffee shop with an earth-toned color pallet, a comfortable seating arrangement, and a delicious beverage. American popular culture mimics that imagery, in television shows like NBC’s Friends and Frasier, and movies like You’ve Got Mail. Coffee shops are one kind of third place, a term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg to describe tertiary spaces to work and home where people commune and form community. But a darker side of coffee shops exists relatively unnoticed. This thesis demonstrates how popular cultural portrayals of coffee and coffee shops—small businesses and Starbucks Coffee Company—have both …

"Principle Before Party": Samuel "Golden Rule" Jones And The 1899 Ohio Gubernatorial Election, Connor Hand

Honors Projects

As partisan loyalty declined and resentment grew against American social, political, and economic conditions at the end of the nineteenth century, political reformers saw an opportunity to spread their ideals for a better society. Most reformers opted against running for office, and those who did often used standard or newly formed political parties. Mayor of Toledo and progressive businessman Samuel Jones differed from the standard reformer by seeking office while embracing a non-partisan ideology. By analyzing Jones’ writings, the partisan response to his movement, and contextualizing him amongst reformers, this essay explores how Jones stood out from the standard political …

The Right-To-Work Debate In Louisiana: How A Moment Of Violence Changed Law, Emma K. Thigpen

LSU Master's Theses

These two projects focus on the rise of business communities in twentieth century politics of the South and how they shaped national visions of the United States’ economic future. Chapter 1, a primary source project about how labor violence led to a Right-to-Work law, examines the actions of the La. AFL-CIO, led by Victor Bussie, and the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, led by Edward Steimel, as they pursue alternate visions of economic progress and the “American way.” A major theme of this chapter is how violence was manipulated and refashioned to legitimize a lobbying organization and legislation intended …

Black Migration From Arkansas To Detroit: The Promise Of Prosperity, Justin Ripley

ATU Scholars Symposium

This presentation examines the experiences of Arkansans in the Great Migration of African Americans from the U.S. South during the twentieth century. My research examines Detroit, Michigan census records spanning from 1900-1950 along with archival records from Wayne State University’s Walter P. Reuther Library and Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs. These records tell a story that highlights and reveals the struggles along with familiar patterns which define migration experiences that many southern African American laborers faced in migrating to northern industrial cities such as Detroit. This presentation aims to reveal how African Americans adjusted and overcame trials while simultaneously …

Hyphenated America: The Story Of Swedish Immigrants In The 20th Century, Ryan D. Coons

Department of History

This thesis examines the memorialization of two Swedish immigrants John Ericsson and Joe Hill by their contemporaries. The first section, focusing on socially mobile upper class Swedish immigrants who immortalized Ericsson as a symbol of their "Americanness," The latter documents the life of Joe Hill and the IWW. His labor activism forever typified Hill as an outside foreigner. Both Ericsson and Hill's actual lived experience demonstrate a more complex weaving between Swedish and American. Ericsson frequently confirmed a loyalty to his native Sweden, even with his final wishes being to be buried under Swedish soil. Hill on the other hand, …

"By The Sweat Of His Brow"?: Master Mechanics And Class Position In Antebellum New Orleans, Caleb G. Roark

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis argues that New Orleans’s skilled laborers profited alongside or from enslaved laborers. Proponents of free labor ideology, largely relegated to the North, charged that the skilled mechanic was the prototypical “free laborer.” In contemporary and modern portrayals, the systems of free and enslaved labor were considered antithetical. This thesis posits that these views are incorrect. Free and enslaved labor flourished together in the Crescent City. Despite their absence in historical understandings of the antebellum South, skilled laborers succeeded in New Orleans. I track societal debates across Louisiana’s newspapers concerning the status and success of mechanics across the state. …

Forging Industry: Craft Practice At The Delaware Mine Blacksmith Shop, Lucy A. Gibbs

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This thesis examines the archaeological remains of a nineteenth-century blacksmith shop associated with the Delaware Mine Site in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. Blacksmiths played an important role in early mining operations, providing the metalworking services and tool maintenance necessary to support mineral extraction. Drawing on evidence from the 2025 Michigan Technological University field school, the study investigates the shop’s operational lifespan, organization, and potential activities as it supported daily mining operations. Artifact analysis, spatial reconstruction, soil testing, and archival sources assist in reconstructing shop functions and history.

Results indicate that the shop was likely constructed during the earliest development of the …

Something To Say: Nativism, Prohibition, And The Loss Of Political Alignment In Davenport, Iowa’S German-American Community 1848-1922, Clayton R. Schuler

Graduate Masters Theses

This thesis ends with the municipal elections of 1920 in Davenport, Iowa. Amid the First Red Scare, the Socialist Party was swept into power. The party won under inauspicious national conditions thanks in part to a successful campaign on local concerns; the party had something to say. An examination of the years prior to the election, however, reveals that other factors contributed to political unalignment for the city’s large German descended population. Frustrated with Republican and Democratic parties that seemed to have no place for them, these voters had something to say as well. Ultimately the opportunity that this unalignment …

The 1973 Detroit Teachers' Strike And Its Long-Term Effects On Labor Negotiations, Jacob Staten

Rushton Journal of Undergraduate Humanities Research

This paper examines the efforts made by Detroit educators in 1973 to secure better wages and smaller class sizes as well as Board of Education decision-making processes in response to budget cuts imposed by the city. Further, this research traces concurrent socio-economic issues that were morphing into political issues, helping define not only the labor struggles of teachers but also reflecting struggles felt by citizens in Detroit and other U.S. industrial cities. This study aims to contribute to research on how local budgets and federal policy have impacted and continue to impact public education nationwide to the present day.

Kicking In The Copper Country: The Rise And Fall Of Early Soccer In Michigan's Upper Peninsula 1909-1914, Gabe Logan

Upper Country: A Journal of the Lake Superior Region

Near the beginning of the twentieth century, Cornish miners introduced soccer to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. They initially played informal scrimmages and friendlies until 1909 when several mining communities organized the Copper League. This began spirited competition until the Copper Strike of 1913-1914 terminated interest in the sport. Following labor hostilities, many players moved away from the Keweenaw and ended this once promising league.

Elite Southern Views On Chinese Labor From Reconstruction To Exclusion, Spencer Livengood

The Ozark Historical Review

This paper discusses the shift in Southern attitudes toward Chinese immigrants during the period between the Civil War and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Immediately following the war, those attitudes were generally positive; however, once Reconstruction state governments were overthrown, the South’s political class rapidly aligned itself with western anti-Chinese voices in the papers and in Congress.

Faye Calhoun, Faye J. Calhoun M.S., Ph.D.

We Are NIH Oral History Project

No abstract provided.

Vivian Pinn, Vivian W. Pinn M.D.

We Are NIH Oral History Project

No abstract provided.

Yvonne Maddox, Yvonne T. Maddox Ph.D.

We Are NIH Oral History Project

No abstract provided.

Choked: How Decades Of Failures To Address Air Pollution And Housing Shortages Exacerbated Mortality In Pittsburgh During The Influenza Pandemic Of 1918, Virginia Montanez

Graduate Masters Theses

Pittsburgh experienced the highest death rate of all major U.S. cities during the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic. This record mortality was not due to inadequate, absent, or ignored nonpharmaceutical interventions and mandates. Instead, for decades prior, city officials prioritized industry at the expense of the collective health of the laboring class. They were especially egregious in permitting industrial smoke pollution and overcrowded housing to persist in immigrant-heavy working-class wards, leaving residents susceptible to respiratory disease incidence and mortality. As a result, Pittsburgh’s annual influenza and pneumonia death rates were drastically the worst in the nation to such an extent that …

"The Biggest Outing Of The Year": Hops, Harvest, And The Making Of Oregon's Largest Annual Gathering, 1880-1930, Asher Bernick-Roehr

University Honors Theses

When the end of August came around, all kinds of people started rolling into the little town of Independence, Oregon. Some walked, some came by train, others by wagon, and still others by ferry, motorboat, and canoe. There were Armenians, Swedes, Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Russians, Germans, and Indigenous peoples. There were those who were called fruit tramps, individuals and families who managed to bridge the vast distances across the West to harvest whichever crop needed hands. Entire families arrived, young and old, healthy and sick, with horses, mules, chickens and dogs in tow. Rich men came dressed as poor men …

Edward Condon, Edward S. Condon Jr.

We Are NIH Oral History Project

No abstract provided.

Remaking Life: The Culture Of Chinese Transcontinental Railroad Workers, Caroline Jordan

The Purdue Historian

This paper examines the methods by which Chinese immigrants involved with the construction of the first transcontinental railroad maintained cultural ties to their native China, as well as the changes they made to adapt to their new surroundings. The United States’ first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, primarily at the hands of Chinese immigrants. Despite their massive contribution, no primary documents from Chinese workers themselves are known to exist. Their role in the railroad’s construction was largely forgotten until relatively recently. Chinese workers faced hostile living and working conditions during their life on the railroad. This paper covers multiple …

Where's The Dim Sum? Art, Oral History, And The Chinese American Diaspora In Portland, Or, Rayli Dornan

University Honors Theses

This thesis examines the history, transformation, and contemporary significance of Portland's Chinatown through an oral history framework, emphasizing the voices of Chinese American artists. Beginning with a comprehensive historical overview from the mid-nineteenth-century Gold Rush migrations and railroad labor to twentieth-century exclusion, dispossession under urban renewal, and the late-twentieth-century dispersal into suburbs, the thesis traces how structural racism and policy shaped both the physical landscape and communal life of Oregon's Chinese diaspora. Through in-depth interviews with local artists, this research aims to illuminate how individual experiences of identity, belonging, and creative expression navigate the tensions between heritage and adaptation.

Drawing …

Balancing Power And Influence: U.S.-Brazil Foreign Relations In The 20th Century, Thais Russo Goncalves

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper explores the intricate dynamics of U.S. foreign policies directed toward Brazil during the 20th century. The paper examines Brazil’s unique role in Latin America as the only country in the region to actively participate in both World Wars, which led to its emergence as a key ally of the United States. This partnership influenced U.S. foreign policy, particularly in economic and military aid, fostering Brazil’s dependency on the U.S. while simultaneously granting it regional significance. The paper acknowledges four schools of thought: exclusion, reactionary, parental, and economic-political, to analyze the motivations and implications of U.S. policies. The exclusion …

The Chumash War Of 1824: Revolution And Counterrevolution In The California Missions Santa Inés, Santa Barbara, And La Purísima, Joseph V. Payne

Master's Theses

In 1824, the Indigenous Chumash of Missions Santa Inés, Santa Barbara, and La Purísima de Concepción went to war against the settler-colonial system that bonded them to the mission lands and forced labor regime demanded by the Spanish Franciscan missionaries and compelled by Mexican military force in Alta California. The conflict lasted months and included violent battles and skirmishes at all three missions, the militant occupation and reclamation of La Purísima, a mass exodus to the interior of the territory, and the subsequent counterrevolutionary collaboration of the Spanish missionaries and Mexican military to return many (but not all) of the …

“Take This Job And Shove It”: How Black Women’S Fight For Economic Rights Informed Their Participation In The Broader Social Movements Of The Twentieth Century, Kyndle Diane Lee

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the vital role of Black women in the American labor movement during the twentieth century, emphasizing how their leadership and union participation were central to both labor organizing and the broader fight for human rights. Black women workers navigated and resisted the effects of racism, sexism, and class exploitation in a century marked by industrial expansion, economic upheaval, and major civil rights struggles. Far from passive participants, they emerged as key organizers, negotiators, and strategists in their communities, labor unions, and national movements. Additionally, their work extended beyond their demands for better wages and safer working conditions. …

Industrialization And Immigration: Latino And Hispanic Immigrants In The South Carolina Upstate, Matthew D. Girardeau

All Theses

European investment in the South Carolina Upstate created favorable conditions for Latino immigration. French tire manufacturer Michelin came to the region in the 1970s, and the construction of the largest BMW plant in the world in the 1990s greatly impacted the local economy. The Upstate had a history of outside investment, beginning with Northern industrialists in the textile industry and later European companies that provided equipment for textile mills. The automotive industry did not necessarily employ Latinos, but the money generated by the sector created booming construction and service industries. Latinos built a community in western Greenville County and established …

Linda Morris, Linda G. Morris B.S.

We Are NIH Oral History Project

No abstract provided.

Labor And Residence Within The Mexican Community In Aurora, Illinois, 1920-1940., Eddie Guerrero

Honors Capstones

This research examines how labor opportunities in Aurora, Illinois, between 1920 and 1940 shaped the growth and development of the Mexican community. Using U.S. census data from 1920, 1930, and 1940, historical city maps, oral histories, and special agent reports, the project traces employment patterns across three distinct waves of migration. It explores the role of industries such as the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, the Cotton Mill, and New Deal initiatives like the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and National Youth Administration (NYA) in the formation and growth of the Mexican community. The findings reveal that labor not only shaped …

Anarcho-Syndicalism In The Negaunee Branch Of The Finnish Socialist Association, Michael P. Selwa

HS 390 Primary Research Papers

Socialism reached a prominence as a movement in the United States during the early 20th century. Fueled by the machinations of industrial capitalism and labor reform, many workers, immigrants, and other individuals would arrive to the precepts of socialism, a political movement avowing to shirk the constraints of capitalism on the proletariat. Specifically, the question of why and how labor unions should function in a socialist society was a central tenet of debate within the faction of the American Socialist Party. The central question of this article is to examine why anarcho-syndicalists argued against traditional socialist reformist arguments in the …

Labor And Beet Sugar, A "Modern Commodity" In The United States Between 1890 And 1920, Melanie H. Zelle

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

The turn of the twentieth century saw a booming American beet sugar industry. For the first time beet sugar rivaled cane sugar in feeding growing domestic demand. Examined here are numerous factors considered significant in the sudden explosion of an industry which had previously failed to establish itself on the continent, including trade policy, monopolization, and advancements in industrial technology. However, in returning to contemporaneous primary literature on the subject, including grower’s manuals, histories of the plant, and economic analysis, I locate labor as a significant and often overlooked base of growth in the industry. Thus it was through innovations …

Iii.A.2 Displacement & Barriers To Home Ownership, Kim Rostan, Bria Harper, Jim Neighbors, Mark Byrnes

Crafting Democratic Futures

This document explains how systemic racism and discriminatory policies from the Civil War & Reconstruction period through the 20th century prevented African Americans in Spartanburg from building wealth through land ownership and home equity. It details barriers such as Black Codes, sharecropping, convict leasing, exclusion from New Deal programs, discriminatory housing policies, and urban renewal projects that displaced Black neighborhoods without providing equitable opportunities for economic advancement.