So i tell the story of black women in the union and im going to tell you about the story, too. They say, that, well, history is biographical. In my case, it is. Im an immigrant. And i went to university and, you know, started doing history and very much interested in immigration and you know what were women doing. And the story is that is that, you know, you have these women coming from the south end work on the great migration and from the british west indys. They worked as domestic servants. They came across a book and there was one line in it and said that, well, they were also garment workers. And i was just fascinated because it was a new narrative. I it made the difference to black folk the an opportunity to break into industry you have men going to war but in the case of the Garment Industry in new york, the sort of sensation of transatlantic you didnt have the supply of eastern and workers and that was the traditional supply for the Garment Industry. Well, there were all of the
Professor in american studies in the department of history at cornell. In addition to Free Enterprise and American History in 1919, he has wr wrun three other books including buying power. Published in 2009. And a living wage and Consumer Society published in 1997. He writes on a regular basis for publications including the Washington Post though um not sure we recall that popular. The Boston Review and dissent. His article the racist plucks of the english language. Most loved and the Boston Review in 2018. Thank you to rachael for the behind the scenes work and pete and eric and christian and all the organization thats helped make this possible. Im really grateful. Thanks to all of you for coming out. Um real im really honored by the size of the audience today. We rub shoulders with those that came before and id like to begin by mentioning a few of mt scholars who helped me identify Free Enterprise as a topic worth exploring. I have selling Free Enterprise, to serve god in walmart, ki
I welcome you to the Historical Society and center this eechk. If you do not know about us, its time you did. We are the first such center within the walls of a major museum in the United States. And its about time. Im not going to take too much time, too much time away from the panel, but i do want to do a special shoutout to our moderator, post doctoral fellow in womens history and public history here at new york his r historical. Nick is a fantastic scholar and human being and colleague and i am so absolutely thrilled that hes been with us at a very important moment in the development of the center. I also want to do a special shoutout to the Melon Foundation itself, which about four years ago, gave us a giant vote of confidence and very lovely grant to get the center up and running because at the Melon Foundation, we are here and we are here to stay. And really, really happy about that. In any case, nick went to columbia university, got his phd there just a couple of years ago, as
Now on American History tv, Cornell University history professor Lawrence Glickman describing how the modern concept of Free Enterprise formed in the 130s during the rise of the new deal. Professor in american studies in the department of history at cornell. In addition to Free Enterprise and American History in 1919, he has written four other books including buying power a history of consumer activism in america published in 2009 and a living wage, American Workers and the making of Consumer Society published in 1997. He writes on a regular basis for popular publications including the washington post, though im not sure we would call that a popular publication. The Boston Review and dissent. His article was named one of the, i quote, most loved essays in the Boston Review in 2018. Thank you. Thank you to rachel for all the behind the scenes work and, pete, and eric and christian and all of the organizations that helped make this possible. Im really grateful. Thanks for all of you comi
But today, our subject is the socialist party. The rise of socialism as a key element of american radicalism in the early 20th century. On a reading list, the chapter by michael casing gives a good quick summary of this moment in the various kinds of socialism at that time. From 1860 at least onward, there had been some kind of socialist presence in the u. S. But largely confined to immigrants from europe, particularly germans, english. The emergence of a mass socialist movement with a base in the u. S. Political system follows the final flowering of the 19th century radical tradition and the defeat of the populist party in the 1890s. The inheritors of 19th century radicalism were forced to kind of think about new ways of confronting the problems and inequities of the rapidly changing Industrial Society of that time. It is often said by those who write about the history of socialism that american socialism was particularly untheoretical. Very few americans produced theoretical works ab