The Homestead Strike by Kahan, Paul;

Short description:

On July 6, 1892, three hundred armed Pinkerton agents arrived in Homestead, Pennsylvania to retake the Carnegie Steelworks from the company's striking workers. As the agents tried to leave their boats, shots rang out and a violent skirmish began. The confrontation at Homestead was a turning point in the history of American unionism, beginning a rapid process of decline for America’s steel unions that lasted until the Great Depression.

Examining the strike’s origins, events, and legacy, The Homestead Strike illuminates the tense relationship between labor, capital, and government in the pivotal moment between Reconstruction and the Progressive Era. In a concise narrative, bolstered by statements from steelworkers, court testimony, and excerpts from Carnegie's writings, Paul Kahan introduces students to one of the most dramatic and influential episodes in the history of American labor.

Long description:

On July 6, 1892, three hundred armed Pinkerton agents arrived in Homestead, Pennsylvania to retake the Carnegie Steelworks from the company's striking workers. As the agents tried to leave their boats, shots rang out and a violent skirmish began. The confrontation at Homestead was a turning point in the history of American unionism, beginning a rapid process of decline for America’s steel unions that lasted until the Great Depression.

Examining the strike’s origins, events, and legacy, The Homestead Strike illuminates the tense relationship between labor, capital, and government in the pivotal moment between Reconstruction and the Progressive Era. In a concise narrative, bolstered by statements from steelworkers, court testimony, and excerpts from Carnegie's writings, Paul Kahan introduces students to one of the most dramatic and influential episodes in the history of American labor.

1. Anthony DeStefanis, Otterbein

I like that the book promises a narrative on Homestead that connects it to larger issues in the history of the nineteenth century and will also include some primary sources. There are lots of primary source readers that take this approach (the Bedford history and culture series, for instance), but it seems that you are going to spend more time and space on the narrative before you get to the primary sources.

I think making the connections between Homestead and what was happening more broadly in the economy, business, and the lives of working-class people will be particularly useful in the classroom.

If done right, I think this book could have a very long shelf life and could be very successful. Homestead is an event that many professors touch on in the courses I listed in

Table of Contents:

Introduction. 1. Carnegie and Frick 2. American Labor History, 1600-1892 3. Lead-Up to the Strike 4. The Lockout and Strike 5. Aftermath 6. Legacy and Conclusion. Documents.