Doing History from the Bottom Up: On E. P. Thompson, Howard Zinn, and Rebuilding the Labor Movement from Below

In the 1960s historians on both sides of the Atlantic began to challenge the assumptions of their colleagues and push for an understanding of history "from below." In this collection, Staughton Lynd, himself one of the pioneers of this approach, laments the passing of fellow luminaries David Montgomery, E.P. Thompson, Alfred Young, and Howard Zinn, and makes the case that contemporary academics and activists alike should take more seriously the stories and perspectives of Native Americans, slaves, rank-and-file workers, and other still-too-frequently marginalized voices. Staughton Lynd is an American conscientious objector, Quaker, peace activist and civil rights activist, tax resister, historian, professor, author, and lawyer. History,ebook Reflections on the crucial importance of including the perspectives of the marginalized and the non-elite in our historical accounts. In the 1960s, historians on both sides of the Atlantic began to challenge the assumptions of their colleagues and push for an understanding of history “from below.” In this collection of writings, Staughton Lynd, one of the pioneers of this approach, laments the passing of fellow luminaries David Montgomery, E.P. Thompson, Alfred Young, and Howard Zinn; offers an account of the decline of trade unionism based on the narratives of workers and his efforts as a lawyer to assist them; and makes the case that contemporary academics and activists alike should take more seriously the stories and perspectives of Native Americans, slaves, rank-and-file workers, and other still-too-frequently marginalized voices. TABLE OF CONTENTSPreface and AcknowledgmentsPart I. Mentors and Exemplars Introduction E.P. Thompson: In Memoriam Edward Thompson's Warrens Howard Zinn The Ex-Bombardier Overcoming Racism A People's History Working-Class Self-ActivityPart II. Rebuilding the Labor Movement from Below Introduction Guerrilla History in Gary "Your Dog Don't Bark No More" The Possibility of Radicalism in the Early 1930s: The Case of Steel Local 1330 v. U.S. Steel "We Are All We've Got": Building a Retiree Movement in Youngstown, Ohio Solidarity Unionism Conclusion: "We Are All Leaders"AfterwordIndex