Gary J. Kornblith
Rice 306

x58526

gary.kornblith@oberlin.edu

Oberlin College

History 258

Spring 2007

Office hours: Wed., 3:30- 5 pm
and by appointment

The Industrial Revolution in America

Standard Oil Company’s No. 1 Refinery, Cleveland, Ohio, 1889 (WRHS)

[Note: The official, up-to-date version of the course syllabus is posted on Blackboard.]

In the century after the adoption of the federal Constitution, the United States developed from an overwhelming agrarian society into the world' s leading industrial power. This course examines industrialization as, variously, an economic, technological, political, environmental, and cultural process that transformed both the nation's social order and the daily lives of ordinary Americans. To understand the causes, dynamics, and consequences of industrialization, we will employ a wide range of analytic strategies, evaluate a variety of scholarly interpretations, and make extensive use of both print and electronic resources. During the second half of the term, students will undertake original research projects in primary documents. Throughout the semester students will be encouraged to think critically and independently about the history of capitalist development in the United States. Everyone is expected to contribute to class discussions--both face-to-face and online--and to promote a constructive educational environment.

Evaluation: Final grades will be based on two 3-4 page position papers (15% each), one 9-10 page research paper (40%), and class participation including contributions to Blackboard, in-class contributions, and an oral presentation of research results (30%). The instructor reserves the right to exercise some discretion in assigning final grades.

Honor Code: All course work is covered by Oberlin's Honor Code. If you have a question about how the Honor Code applies to a particular assignment, you should ask the professor in advance of the due date.

Writing Certification: Students who wish to be considered for certification of writing proficiency should notify the instructor at the beginning of the semester.

Purchases: Students are expected to buy the following books. They are available for purchase at the Oberlin Bookstore.

Elaine S. Abelson, When Ladies Go A-Thieving

Tyler Anbinder, Five Points

Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward

William Cronon, Nature’s Metropolis

Gary J. Kornblith, ed., The Industrial Revolution in America

Paul Krause, The Battle for Homestead, 1880-1892

Schedule of classes:

Tues., Feb. 6

Introduction

Thurs., Feb. 8

The Age of Homespun

• Horace Bushnell, “The Age of Homespun” (1851) [on ERes and under Course Documents in Blackboard]
• James A. Henretta, "Families and Farms: Mentalité in Pre-Industrial America," William and Mary Quarterly 3rd ser., 35 (Jan. 1978): 3-32. [in JSTOR, accessible from a campus computer]
• Naomi R. Lamoreaux, "Rethinking the Transition to Capitalism in the Early American Northeast," Journal of American History 90 (Sept. 2003): 437-461 [in History Cooperative, accessible from a campus computer]

Tues., Feb. 13

The Political Economy of the New Nation

• Alexander Hamilton, Report on Manufactures (excerpts) [online]
• Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Queries XVIII and XIX (1781-82) [online]
• Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address (1801) [online]

Thurs., Feb. 15

Dynamics of Development

• Thomas C. Cochran, “An Innovative Business System,” in Kornblith, ed., Industrial Revolution, 12-23
• Stanley L. Engerman and Kenneth L. Sokoloff, “Factor Endowments, Inequality, and Paths of Development among New World Economies,” Working Paper 9259 (Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, Oct. 2002) [online]

Tues., Feb. 20

The Coming of the Cotton Mill

• Gary Kulik, “A Factory System in Wood,” in Kornblith, ed., Industrial Revolution, 33-40
• Jonathan Prude, “Social Conflict in the Early Mills,” in Kornblith, ed., Industrial Revolution, 40-53

Thurs., Feb. 22

Lowell, Massachusetts, as Industrial Showcase

• Thomas Dublin, “Factory Employment as Female Empowerment,” in Kornblith, ed., Industrial Revolution, 53-62
• Harriet H. Robinson, Loom & Spindle, chaps. 1-5 (1898) [online]
• “Report of the Legislative Committee on the Ten-Hour Petitions, Massachusetts House Document No. 50” (1845) [in Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000, accessible from a campus computer]

Tues., Feb. 27

Transformation of Craft Production

• Gary J. Kornblith, "The Entrepreneurial Ethic," in Kornblith, ed., Industrial Revolution in America, 71-79
• Sean Wilentz, "The Bastardization of Craft," in Kornblith, ed., Industrial Revolution, 79-87
• Michael Zakim, “A Ready-Made Business: The Birth of the Clothing Industry in America,” Business History Review 73 (Spring 1999): 61-90

Thurs., Mar. 1

Early Labor Radicalism

• Preamble of the Mechanics’ Union of Trade Associations (Philadelphia, 1828) [online]
• The Report and Resolutions of the Committee of Fifty (New York, 1829) [online]
• Report of the National Trades’ Union Convention of 1834 (New York, 1834) [online]
• Ten-Hour Circular (Boston, 1835) [online]

Tues., Mar. 6

Library tour

First position paper due

Thurs., Mar. 8

The Rise of the Metropolis

• Anbinder, Five Points, 1-5, 14-110
• Cronon, Nature’s Metropolis, xv-xi, 23-54

Tues., Mar. 13

Social Identities in the Metropolis

• Anbinder, Five Points, 7-13, 111-144, 172-200
• Christine Stansell, “The Geography of Vice,” in Kornblith, ed., Industrial Revolution, 112-120

• David R. Roediger, "Race, Ethnicity, and Working-Class Formation," in Kornblith, ed., Industrial Revolution, 120-128

Thurs., Mar. 15

The Railroad as Transformative Force

• Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., “The Railroads: Pioneers in Modern Corporate Management,” Business History Review 39 (Spring 1965): 16-40 [in JSTOR]

• Cronon, Nature’s Metropolis, 55-147

Tues., Mar. 20

Industrialization and the Civil War

• Anbinder, Five Points, 235-336

Thurs., Mar. 22

The Rise of Big Business

• Cronon, Nature’s Metropolis, 149-259

Prospectus due

Spring Break

Tues., Apr. 3

Mobility, Meritocracy, and Middle-Class Ideology

Thurs., Apr. 5

The Consumerist Ethic

• Cronon, Nature’s Metropolis, 310-40
• Abelson, When Ladies Go A-Thieving, 3-90, 148-96, and illustrations between p. 90 and p. 91

Tues., Apr. 10

Class Struggles in the Gilded Age, 1860s-1870s

• Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., "The Coming of Mass Production and Modern Management," in Kornblith, ed., Industrial Revolution, 141-49
• Krause, The Battle of Homestead, xiii-xiv, 3-11, 45-152

Thurs., Apr. 12

Class Struggles in the Gilded Age, 1870s-1880s

• Krause, The Battle of Homestead, 153-226

Tues., Apr. 17

No class

Second position paper due

Thurs., Apr. 19

Class Struggles in the Gilded Age, 1880s-1890s

• Krause, The Battle of Homestead, 12-43, 227-362

Tues., Apr. 24

The Richest Man in the World (video)

Thurs., Apr. 26

The Political Economy of Industrial America

• Andrew Carnegie, “Wealth” (1889) [online]
• Bellamy, Looking Backward, entire

Tues., May 1

Student Presentations

Thurs., May 3

Student Presentations

Tues., May 8

Student Presentations

Thurs., May 10

Student Presentations

Research paper due