Labor, Free and Slave

Workingmen and the Anti-Slavery Movement in the United States

Author: Bernard Mandel and Brian Kelly

A classic piece of Old Left scholarship made available to a new generation of students and activists

An important treasure of Old Left scholarship made available to a new generation of students and scholars

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Summary

A classic piece of Old Left scholarship made available to a new generation of students and activists

An important treasure of Old Left scholarship made available to a new generation of students and scholars

Description

A classic piece of Old Left scholarship made available to a new generation of students and activists

Bernard Mandel's classic study provides a concise overview of the relationship between organized abolitionism and the fledgling labor movement in the period before the Civil War. Mandel argues that slavery reinforced the powerlessness of white workers North and South, and the racial divisions that it upheld rendered effective labor solidarity impossible. Deep distrust between abolitionists and the working classes, however, compelled Northern workers to find their own way into the antislavery ranks.

Critic Reviews

“"This edition will bring historians' attention back to a great but no longer known work from the past. Brian Kelly's excellent introduction provides a biography of Mandel, places his book in the context of writings on US history, and presents the critique of whiteness studies implicit in Mandel's thought in a clear and provocative fashion." David Montgomery, author ofFall of the House of Labor”

"This edition will bring historians' attention back to a great but no longer known work from the past. Brian Kelly's excellent introduction provides a biography of Mandel, places his book in the context of writings on US history, and presents the critique of whiteness studies implicit in Mandel's thought in a clear and provocative fashion." David Montgomery, author of Fall of the House of Labor

About the Author

Bernard Mandel was an independent scholar who also published a biography of Samuel Gompers. Brian Kelly is a senior lecturer in the School of History at Queen's University, Belfast, Ireland. He is the author of Race, Class, and Power in the Alabama Coalfields, 1908-1921.