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American Labor History Theme Study

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American Labor History Theme Study NPS Form 10-900-b OMB No. 1024-0018 (March 1992) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form This form is used for documenting multiple property groups relating to one or several historic contexts. See instructions in How to Complete the Multiple Property Documentation Form (National Register Bulletin 16B). Complete each item by entering the requested information. For additional space, use continuation sheets (Form 10-900-a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer to complete all items. X New Submission ____ Amended Submission A. Name of Multiple Property Listing AMERICAN LABOR HISTORY THEME STUDY B. Associated Historic Contexts (Name each associated historic context, identifying theme, geographical area, and chronological period for each.) C. Form Prepared by name/title Eric Arnesen, Alan Derickson, James Green, Walter Licht, and Marjorie Murphy/ Historians; Susan Cianci Salvatore/Preservation Planner organization University of Massachusetts Boston, University of Illinois at Chicago, Pennsylvania State University, University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College, and National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers date January 2003 street & number 1849 C Street NW, 2280 telephone 202-354-2210 city or town Washington state DC zip code 20240 D. Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I hereby certify that this documentation form meets the National Register documentation standards and sets forth requirements for the listing of related properties consistent with the National Register criteria. This submission meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60 and the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation. (See continuation sheet for additional comments.) ______________________________________________ ________________________________________ Signature and title of certifying official date State or Federal agency and bureau I hereby certify that this multiple property documentation form has been approved by the National Register as a basis for evaluating related properties for listing in the National Register. _______________________________________________ ________________________________________ Signature of the Keeper date of action American Labor History Theme Study _______________________ Name of Multiple Property Listing State Table of Contents for Written Narrative Provide the following information on continuation sheets. Cite the letter and the title before each section of the narrative. Assign page numbers according to the instructions for continuation sheets in How to Complete the Multiple Property Documentation Form (National Register Bulletin 16B). Fill in page numbers for each section in the space below. Page Numbers E. Statement of Historic Contexts ..........................................................................................................1 (If more than one historic context is documented, present them in sequential order.) Marking Labor History on the National Landscape ...............................................................................2 Extractive Labor in the United States...................................................................................................21 American Manufacture: Sites of Production and Conflict ...................................................................41 Transportation Labor: Maritime, Railroad, and Trucking ...................................................................75 Work Sites of Public and White-Collar Workers ..............................................................................107 F. Associated Property Types ..............................................................................................................133 (Provide description, significance, and registration requirements.) G. Geographical Data ..........................................................................................................................142 H. Summary of Identification and Evaluation Methods...................................................................143 (Discuss the methods used in developing the multiple property listing.) I. Major Bibliographical References..................................................................................................154 (List major written works and primary location of additional documentation: State Historic Preservation Office, other State agency, Federal agency, local government, university, or other, specifying repository.) Appendix A. National Register of Historic Places Criteria.....................................................................................188 Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 120 hours per response including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.0. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Project (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503. NPS Form 10-900 USDI/NPS NRHP Registration Form (Rev. 8-86) OMB No. 1024-0018 AMERICAN LABOR HISTORY - DRAFT Page 1 United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form STATEMENT OF HISTORIC CONTEXTS Giant textile mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection [LC-USF34-042893-D DLC] NPS Form 10-900 USDI/NPS NRHP Registration Form (Rev. 8-86) OMB No. 1024-0018 AMERICAN LABOR HISTORY - DRAFT Page 2 United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form E. STATEMENT OF HISTORIC CONTEXTS In 1991, the U.S. Congress passed Public Law 102-101 authorizing a National Historic Landmark Theme Study on American Labor History. This study identifies key sites that commemorate the history of American laborers and their activities, the impact of industrial and technological change, and the contributions of workers to the country’s development. The essays show how labor history can identify potential National Historic Landmarks against the complex backdrop of civil rights, race, gender, and democracy. An overview is provided with the intent that additional research will yield new chapters illustrated by authentic places in labor’s continuing story. MARKING LABOR HISTORY ON THE NATIONAL LANDSCAPE1 Recognizing places significant to labor history helps connect the stories of workers to national historical developments. Visitors to these sites have the opportunity to consider events often ignored by mainstream historical sources. Recently, historians have discovered a popular interest in rediscovering labor’s past and in reinterpreting the contribution of working people to local and national development. To this end, workers have collaborated with historians in this process of democratizing and publicizing the past.2 The greatest national sites can be seen not only as construction and engineering marvels, but also as sites where labor history was made. For example, the Hoover Dam, completed in 1935, is associated with the nearby Boulder City Historic District, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a company town that kept out union organizers and African Americans. 3 In 1931, construction workers quit in protest against dangerous working conditions and a killing pace, only to be replaced by the unemployed from Las Vegas. Not until passage of the National Industrial Recovery Act in 1933 did union organizers establish locals to shape conditions and labor terms for the project's completion. Railroad, lumbering, mining, and manufacturing sites represent locations largely populated by the working class. Textile and clothing industries—the two largest 19th century industries— along with two other enormous sectors, domestic servants and agricultural laborers, included women and children at work with men. Some occupations were tied directly or indirectly to agriculture, including the antebellum Southern slave economy. In the past three decades some of the most exciting research by labor historians concerns women and people of color once ignored by scholars of labor and industry. A greater understanding of the diversity and complexity of the work force created by the industrial revolution is perhaps the leading achievement of the new labor history. 1 James Green, Professor of History and Labor Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, prepared this introductory essay. Dr. Green specializes in the study of social movements, particularly those involving workers and unions, and in the presentation of people’s history to the public. His books include Taking History to Heart: The Power of the Past in Building Social Movements (Amherst: University of Massachusetts
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