Evolution, Not Revolution: the Effect of New Deal Legislation On
EVOLUTION, NOT REVOLUTION: THE EFFECT OF NEW DEAL LEGISLATION ON INDUSTRIAL GROWTH AND UNION DEVELOPMENT IN DALLAS, TEXAS M. Courtney Welch, B.S.E., M.A., Ed.D. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 2010 APPROVED: Richard McCaslin, Major Professor and Chair of the Department of History Randolph Campbell, Committee Member John Todd, Committee Member Aaron Navarro, Committee Member Elizabeth Turner, Committee Member James D. Meernik, Acting Dean of the Robert B. Toulouse School of Graduate Studies Welch, M. Courtney. Evolution, Not Revolution: The Effect of New Deal Legislation on Industrial Growth and Union Development in Dallas, Texas. Doctor of Philosophy (History), August 2010, 226 pp., 9 tables, 11 illustrations, references, 145 titles. The New Deal legislation of the 1930s would threaten Dallas’ peaceful industrial appearance. In fact, New Deal programs and legislation did have an effect on the city, albeit an unbalanced mixture of positive and negative outcomes characterized by frustrated workers and industrial intimidation. To summarize, the New Deal did not bring a revolution, but it did continue an evolutionary change for reform. This dissertation investigated several issues pertaining to the development of the textile industry, cement industry, and the Ford automobile factory in Dallas and its labor history before, during, and after the New Deal. New Deal legislation not only created an avenue for industrial workers to achieve better representation but also improved their working conditions. Specifically focusing on the textile, cement, and automobile industries illustrates that the development of union representation is a spectrum, with one end being the passive but successful cement industry experience and the other end being the automobile industry union efforts, which were characterized by violence and intimidation.
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