Oberlin College

Gary J. Kornblith
History 258
King 141-G; x8526
Spring 2000
Gary.Kornblith@oberlin.edu
AltaVista Forum: Hist258

 

The Industrial Revolution in America

 

In the century after the adoption of the federal Constitution, the United States developed from an overwhelming agrarian society into the world' s leading industrial power. This course examines industrialization as, variously, an economic, technological, political, environmental, and cultural process that transformed both the nation's social order and the daily lives of ordinary Americans. To understand the causes, dynamics, and consequences of industrialization, we will employ a wide range of analytic strategies, evaluate a variety of scholarly interpretations, and make use of Oberlin's new electronic seminar room. Special, though not exclusive, emphasis will be placed on statistical methods and quantitative studies. Class members will collaborate on a group research project utilizing Microsoft Excel to analyze data collected from the 1870 and 1880 federal Censuses of Manufactures for Cleveland. Throughout the semester students will be encouraged to think critically and independently about the history of capitalist development in the United States. Everyone is expected to contribute to class discussions--both face-to-face and online--and to promote a constructive educational environment.

Evaluation: Final grades will be based on three 4-5 page position papers (20% each), one 4-5 page research report (20%), and class participation (20%), including contributions to AltaVista Forum (see Quick Tips sheet) and an oral presentation of research results. Certification of quantitative proficiency will be based on assigned problem sets and the research report. Students must complete all writing and quantitative assignments to receive credit for the course. The professor reserves the right to exercise some discretion in assigning final grades.

Purchases: Students are expected to purchase the following books. They are also on reserve at the main library in Mudd.

  • Loren Haskins and Kirk Jeffrey, Understanding Quantitative History
  • Gary J. Kornblith, ed., The Industrial Revolution in America
  • Walter Licht, Industrializing America: The Nineteenth Century
  • Theodore Steinberg, Nature Incorporated
  • Kim Voss, The Making of American Exceptionalism
  • Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward

Standard Oil Co.'s No. 1 Refinery, Cleveland, 1889. WRHS.

Class Schedule:

Mon., Feb. 7

Introduction

Wed., Feb. 9

Presentation: The Political Economy of the New Nation

Fri., Feb. 11


Hamilton


Jefferson

 

Discussion: The Early Debate over Manufactures

Mon., Feb. 14

Presentation: Dynamics of Development to 1850

Wed., Feb. 16

Lab: Introduction to Microsoft Excel

Fri., Feb. 18

 

 

 

Discussion: Cultural and Institutional Bases of Industrialization

  • Thomas C. Cochran, "An Innovative Business System," in Kornblith, ed., Industrial Revolution in America, 12-23
  • Anthony F.C. Wallace, "The Fraternity of Mechanicians," in ibid., 23-29
  • Christopher L. Tomlins, "Law and Power in the Employment Relationship" in Tomlins and Andrew J. King, eds., Labor Law in America, 71-98 (on ERes)
  • Licht, Industrializing America, 21-45

 


Distribution of First Paper Topic

Mon., Feb. 21

Presentation: The Coming of the Cotton Mill

Old Slater Miill

Wed., Feb. 23

 

Lab: Mean, Median, and Standard Deviation

Fri., Feb. 25

No class; first paper due

Mon., Feb. 28


Lowell National Historical Park

Discussion: Lowell as a Case Study

  • Steinberg, Nature Incorporated, 1-95
  • Thomas Dublin, "Factory Employment as Female Empowerment" in Kornblith, ed., Industrial Revolution in America, 53-62
  • Harriet H. Robinson, Loom & Spindle, chaps. 1-5

 

Wed., Mar. 1

Lab: Sampling

  • Haskins and Jeffrey, Understanding Quantitative History, 121-161

1850 U.S. Manufacturing Data

Fri., Mar. 3

Presentation: The Transformation of Craft Production

Distribution of Problem Set 1

Boston1850select..xls

Mon., Mar. 6


Old Sturbridge Village

Discussion: Class Consciousness within Urban Trades

  • Kornblith, "The Entrepreneurial Ethic," in Kornblith, ed., Industrial Revolution in America, 71-79
  • Sean Wilentz, "The Bastardization of Craft," in ibid., 79-87
  • Labor Protest Documents of the 1820s-1830s
  • Licht, Industrializing America, 46-78

 

Wed., Mar. 8

Lab: Statistical vs. Historical Significance

  • Haskins and Jeffrey, Understanding Quantitative History, 167-208

First problem set due

Fri., Mar. 10

Lab: Statistical vs. Historical Significance (continued)

Boston1850Apparel.xls

Mon., Mar. 13


Five Points, New York City

Presentation: The Emergence of the Metropolis

Distribution of Second Paper Topic

 

Wed., Mar. 15

Discussion: Social Identity in the Big City

  • Stuart M. Blumin, "Urban Lifestyles and Middle-Class Formation" in Kornblith, ed., Industrial Revolution in America, 101-111
  • Christine Stansell, "The Geography of Vice," in ibid., 112-120
  • David R. Roediger, "Race, Ethnicity, and Working-Class Formation," in ibid., 120-128

 

 

Fri., Mar. 17

Video: New York: A Documentary Film, episode 2 (excerpt)

 

Mon., Mar. 20

Presentation: Industrialization and the Civil War

  • Licht, Industrializing America, 79-102

Wed., Mar. 22

Lab: Correlation

  • Haskins and Jeffrey, Understanding Quantitative History, 209-57

Northeast1860.xls

Fri., Mar. 24

No class; second paper due



SPRING BREAK

Mon., Apr. 3

Lab: Planning the Cleveland Research Project

 

Wed., Apr. 5

Presentation: The Rise of Big Business

  • Licht, Industrializing America, 102-165

Fri., Apr. 7

Video: Iron Road

Mon., Apr. 10

 

Presentation: Class Struggles in the Gilded Age



Haymarket Riot, 1886

 

Wed., Apr. 12

 

Lab: Cleveland Research Project

Fri., Apr. 14


Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives (1890)

Discussion: The Labor Question in Public Discourse
  • Testimony before the Senate Committee upon Relations between Labor and Capital (1883), excerpts [handout]

 

 

Mon., Apr. 17

Presentation: The Political Economy of Industrial America

  • Licht, Industrializing America, 166-96

Wed., Apr. 19

Discussion: The Knights of Labor and the Radical Opportunities

  • Voss, The Making of American Exceptionalism, 1-18, 72-228

 

Fri., Apr. 21

Discussion: The Knights of Labor and the Radical Opportunities (cont.)

  • Voss, The Making of American Exceptionalism, 1-18, 72-228

Note: Coded Cleveland data due by 5 p.m., Sun., April 23

Mon., Apr. 24

Video:The Richest Man in the World: Andrew Carnegie (part 1)

Note: Research Prospectus due on AltaVista Forum by 9 a.m.

 

Wed., Apr. 26

Video: The Richest Man in the World: Andrew Carnegie (part 2)

Fri., Apr. 28


Andrew Carnegie

Discussion: Andrew Carnegie as a Case Study

  • Alfred F. Chandler, Jr. "The Coming of Mass Production and Modern Management" in Kornblith, ed., Industrial Revolution in America, 141-149
  • David Montgomery, "The Struggle for Control of Production" in ibid., 173-179
  • Andrew Carnegie, "The Gospel of Wealth" (1889)

 

Mon., May 1

Lab: Preparing Presentations with PowerPoint

Guidelines for Research Reports

Wed., May 3

Oral presentations: Eastman, Roberts, Stoper

Fri., May 5

Oral presentations: Alexander, Calhoun, Cook, Wood

Mon., May 8

Oral presentations: Feldman, Hill

Research report due

Distribution of Final Paper Topic

Wed., May 10

Oral presentations: Kent-Monning, Kornblith

Course evaluations

Fri., May 12


Machinery Hall, Chicago World's Fair, 1893

Conclusion: Looking Backward and Forward

  • Bellamy, Looking Backward
  • Alan Trachtenberg, "Competing Visions for the Future" in Kornblith, ed., Industrial Revolution in America, 180-189

 

 
Tue., May 16 End of reading period; final paper due