America 1815-1860

[Adil3tr]

I need material on labor, exploitation, etc in America between the end of the war of 1812 and the start of the civil war.

[The American]

Actual slavery or labor wage slavery?

[Adil3tr]

wage slavery only

[Catmatic Leftist]

The Lowell Mill Girls protests in 1834 and 1836 were probably some of the most pertinent events of early labor uprising in America. There were many instances of child labor, long work weeks (70+ hours), etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_Mill_Girls

[Adil3tr]

That works, but I need something to make an overview. I'm also using the peoples history to help with that.

[NoOneIsIllegal]

(Despite it's moderate, and even anti-radical approach in the later chapters) I would recommend There is Power in a Union by Philip Dray for this set of years. Extremely helpful for America's early years of industrializing and how society adjusted to that. I don't know how willing you are to get this information, the book is rather hefty (Brand new: $35, look for used although the book is new). Don't bother reading any of the section once it gets to the 1880s, or at least read everything with a grain, or mouthful, of salt. It basically reads: "Samuel Gompers and Walter Reuther are gods; everyone else is wrong"

The book has its faults, but from 1820s to 1860s it does a great job.

[Hoipolloi Cassidy]

wage slavery only
As a primary source, Cannibals All by George Fitzhugh. Extremely popular in the mid-1850s,argued the wage slaves were even worse off than the other kind. Hint: he was a Southerner.

The other question is, are you familiar with the historians who are critical of 19th century capitalism - Joyce Appleby, Alexander Saxton?

[graymouser]

I don't have it but the first volume of Philip S. Foner's History of the Labor Movement in the United States - admittedly, best known for its fourth volume on the IWW - covers the period you're looking for. There are chapters in most narrative histories of the period like Labor's Untold Story and From the Folks Who Brought You the Weekend but to be honest they both focus more on post-Civil War organization.

[RED DAVE]

Always a good place to start: online text.

A Peoples History of the United States (http://www.historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html)

RED DAVE

[Ocean Seal]

I need material on labor, exploitation, etc in America between the end of the war of 1812 and the start of the civil war.
This is a period that I really don't know much about. It is marked with the Trail of Tears, expansionism into areas like Texas, the pacific Northwest, and the territory that Mexico lost to the United States. This is prior to the gilded age so conflicts with labor bosses were not as profound in the United States at this point in time (or at least our history books don't say that they are). This might be in part because of the new land that came in at considerably low prices along with the continued exploitation of slaves and the not yet completed industrialization of the United States. The debate to end slavery is probably the most interesting aspect of this era. Bleeding Kansas gives a good idea of how people thought about the prospect of slavery. Also the anti-slavist group generally believed that slaves shouldn't be kept because they didn't want black people on their land, although, a crowd who believed slavery to be disgustingly immoral was growing to be very large. And there were indeed some people who believed blacks and whites should be equal.

[StalinFanboy]

I have a book called Dynamite that documents class violence in American beginning in 1830. That's only half of the time period you're looking for but it still might be worth checking out.

[Iraultzaile Ezkerreko]

Subterranean Fire is another good Marxist history of labor in the United States.