American Social History

6. Mon 2/2 – Labor and Gender

Begin reading the Brandeis Brief online. Also, familiarize yourself with the following terms or cases: Muller v. Oregon (1908), Lochner v. New York (1905), liberty of contract, Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911, Louis Brandeis.


7. Wed 2/4 - Discuss “Brandeis Brief in Muller v. Oregon”

What “extra-legal” data did Brandeis use?
Why did he develop this unusual style of legal brief?
What can we social historians learn (maybe by accident) from his information?
Why has this brief become important in legal practice?
How did Brandeis find and compile his information?
What was the effect of his documentation on the case?
On a recent feminist lawyer’s blog, one lawyer criticized this brief for being full of “paternalistic drivel.” Do you agree?


8. Fri 2/6 – Presentation Day #1

If this is your week, start at the sites below early in the week, where you will find useful & juicy information on women and work in the Progressive era (1880-1930).

Discovering American Women’s History Online

Women Working, 1800-1930 – especially the photographs in the Baker Business Library Collection, under “Browse the Collection” –> “By Photographs”

Connecticut Women and Work

Calhoun Industrial School, Alabama Cyanotype Album

Women’s History on InfoPlease (although ignore the ads) –> “Work”

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Virtual Exhibit (Kheel Center)


Your in-class presentation should be about 5 minutes long. It can introduce us to a wonderful online resource, be a Powerpoint presentation, a group exercise, a game, an activity, a discussion…

We won’t meet today, so we’ll discuss the Gutman essay on Friday. (Part One is here, Part Two is here). The assignment for the response paper is here and that paper is due in class on Friday.

Looking ahead, next week we will discuss the “Brandeis Brief” in the Muller v. Oregon case (1908). It’s long, so plan ahead how to finish it by Wednesday. You can find it online here.

Enjoy your snow day!

3. Mon 1/26 – Social History as history of workers

Begin reading Gutman’s essay – it’s long, so I broke it into 2 parts - Part 1 is here.


4. Wed 1/28 – Document: Herbert Gutman, “Work, Culture and Society in Industrializing America 1815-1919″

The second part of Gutman’s essay is here.

Questions to consider:

What do we learn about industrializing America from 1815-1919? Why those dates?

What does it mean to “industrialize”?

On whom does Gutman focus and why?

Gutman emphasizes continuities as well as changes. Can you find examples of Braudel’s “long duration” idea?


5. Fri 1/30 – Response paper due on Gutman (assignment will be posted by Monday)

Discussion in class is to be based on your papers, ideas from your reading – focusing on Gutman’s scholarly technique and on the importance of this essay in the field of social history. It’s considered “seminal.” Why?

1. Wed 1/21 – course introduction – no assigned reading

2. Fri 1/23 – what is social history? – Discussion Day

Reading: an article from the Journal of Social History & prepare to discuss it in class (see assignment handout).

Issues of the JSH from 1996-2002 are on the library shelves in the periodical section (by journal title)

Or, for online:

Browse the index of the JSH here (note this is not the full article, just an index)

To find an article from the JSH in full-text (1974-present), go to the WSC library homepage –> Articles and Databases –> Academic Search Complete –> log in with your WSC username and password –> Publications (choose from the top tabs) –> Journal of Social History –> select a year from the right-hand list

Be prepared to answer the following questions in our class discussion -

Why did you choose this article? What intrigued you about it?

How does this author define/ explain “social history,” or why would he/she argue that it belongs in the Journal of Social History?

Who are the people being studied? Where/when did they live? Why does their story matter?

What other works of social history scholarship does this article refer to?

What sources does the author use? How are those sources analyzed?

What conclusions does the author draw? Are you convinced? Why or why not?

What questions or suggestions would you have for this author after reading this article?