How many machine guns does it take to cook one meal? : the Seattle and San Francisco general strikes / Victoria Johnson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Johnson, Victoria L. (Victoria Lee)

Series:

Samuel and Althea Stroum Books

Samuel and Althea Stroum book

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

General Strike, Seattle, Wash., 1919.

General Strike, San Francisco, Calif., 1934.

Strikes and lockouts--United States--History--20th century.

Strikes and lockouts.

Working class--United States--History--20th century.

Working class.

Labor movement--United States--History--20th century.

Labor movement.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (182 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Seattle and San Francisco general strikes

Place of Publication:

Seattle : University of Washington Press, c2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

How Many Machine Guns Does It Take to Cook One Meal? explores the cultural forces that shaped two pivotal events affecting the entire West Coast: the 1919 Seattle General Strike and the 1934 San Francisco General Strike. In contrast to traditional approaches that downplay culture or focus on the role of socialists or communists, Victoria Johnson shows how strike participants were inspired by distinctly American notions of workplace democracy that can be traced back to the political philosophies of Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine. Johnson examines the powerful stories and practices from our own egalitarian traditions that resonated with these workers and that have too often been dismissed by observers of the American labor movement. Ultimately, she argues that organized labor's failure to draw on these traditions in later decades contributed to its decreasing capacity to mobilize workers as well as to the increasing conservatism of American political culture. This book will appeal to scholars of western and labor history, sociology, and political science, as well as to anyone interested in the intersection of labor and culture.

Contents:

New wine in old bottles : rethinking American exceptionalism

"A new power and a new world" : the Seattle General Strike, 1919

"To organize and control the job" : the San Francisco General Strike, 1934

Explaining general strikes: the instrumentality of culture

The making of moral certitude : institutions, identities, and resonance.

Notes:

"A Samuel and Althea Stroum book."

Includes bibliographical references (p. 147-155) and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

9780295802152

0295802154

OCLC:

744362083