
Working in America
Catherine Reef(Author)
Facts On File Inc (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 30. April 2007
Book
Hardback
512 pages
978-0-8160-6239-3 (ISBN)
Description
From colonial times to today, the destiny of the United States has been inextricably linked to its workforce. The Puritan work ethic - the belief that hard work helps to secure one's future status in heaven - provided a context for the millions of Americans who labored to build the country from an agriculturally based colony to an industrial sovereign nation. By tracing U.S. labor history, ""Working in America"" relates social history as well - from slavery and expansion in the West to child labor laws and equal rights for women and minorities. This revised edition adds more detail and depth to the history of workers in the United States and also updates the experiences of African Americans, women, and immigrants to the present time, focusing on such contemporary issues as outsourcing and immigrants' rights. Each chapter begins with a detailed narrative that chronicles the experience of workers in the United States - from factory workers, cowboys, seamstresses, and newsboys to truck drivers, migrant farm workers, computer programmers, and genetic engineers. Chronologies of important events follow, along with eyewitness testimonies on the experience of working in a wide range of professions and trades - from Thomas Jefferson, Malcolm X, Samuel Gompers, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Jesse Jackson, Cesar Chavez, and Jane Addams, as well as a wide range of American workers. This volume also features relevant primary source documents, including the Morrill Act of 1862, the Land Ordinance Act of 1785, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, the constitution of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), and the Equal Rights Amendment. Additional features that will be useful to students include 141 concise biographies of key figures and 102 black-and-white photographs and illustrations, as well as maps, graphs, tables, a glossary, appendixes, notes, a thorough bibliography, and an index.
Reviews / Votes
...an understandable and interesting survey of an important aspect of the American experience...suitable for students at the high school and beginning college levels. - ChoiceMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Interest Age: From 12 to 17 years
Illustrations
black-&-white photographs & illustrations, maps, graphs, & tables, index, bibliography, glossary, chronologies, notes
Dimensions
Height: 286 mm
Width: 219 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
1400 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8160-6239-3 (9780816062393)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Catherine Reef holds a B.A. in English from Washington State University, where she also did graduate work. She is the author of 35 books, including Facts On File's Black Explorers (selected by the New York Public Library as a ""1997 Book for the Teen Age""), Africans in America (selected by the NYPL as a ""2000 Book for the Teen Age""), A to Z of African Americans in the Military, Childhood in America, and Poverty in America (also in the American Experience series).