Doing History from the Bottom Up
On E.P. Thompson, Howard Zinn, and Rebuilding the Labor Movement from Below
Description
In the 1960s historians on both sides of the Atlantic began to challenge the assumptions of their colleagues and push for an understanding of history "from below." In this collection, Staughton Lynd, himself one of the pioneers of this approach, laments the passing of fellow luminaries David Montgomery, E.P. Thompson, Alfred Young, and Howard Zinn, and makes the case that contemporary academics and activists alike should take more seriously the stories and perspectives of Native Americans, slaves, rank-and-file workers, and other still-too-frequently marginalized voices.
Staughton Lynd is an American conscientious objector, Quaker, peace activist and civil rights activist, tax resister, historian, professor, author, and lawyer.
Author Bios
Staughton Lynd (1929-2022) received a BA from Harvard, an MA and PhD from Columbia, and a JD from the University of Chicago. He taught American history at Spelman College in Atlanta, where one of his students was the future Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Alice Walker, and at Yale University. Staughton served as director of Freedom Schools in the Mississippi Summer Project of 1964, and wrote or edited numerous books.
More Info
Publication date: December 9, 2014
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface and Acknowledgments
Part I. Mentors and Exemplars
Introduction
E.P. Thompson: In Memoriam
Edward Thompson's Warrens
Howard Zinn
The Ex-Bombardier
Overcoming Racism
A People’s History
Working-Class Self-Activity
Part II. Rebuilding the Labor Movement from Below
Introduction
Guerrilla History in Gary
“Your Dog Don't Bark No More”
The Possibility of Radicalism in the Early 1930s: The Case of Steel
Local 1330 v. U.S. Steel
“We Are All We’ve Got”: Building a Retiree Movement in Youngstown, Ohio
Solidarity Unionism
Conclusion: “We Are All Leaders”
Afterword
Index
