Dissertation Information for Richard James Altenbaugh NAME: - Richard James Altenbaugh
DEGREE:
- Ph.D.
DISCIPLINE:
- [No Discipline Recorded]
SCHOOL:
- University of Pittsburgh (USA) (1980)
ADVISORS: - None COMMITTEE MEMBERS: - None
MPACT Status: Incomplete - Not_Inspected
Title: FORMING THE STRUCTURE OF A NEW SOCIETY WITHIN THE SHELL OF THE OLD: A STUDY OF THREE LABOR COLLEGES AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE AMERICAN LABOR MOVEMENT
Abstract: "This historical study examines the role of education in the American labor movement. During the early decades of this century, American workers participated in the creation of several hundred workers' schools. Three of these are of particular interest. Brookwood Labor College founded in 1921 and located in Katonah, New York, earned the distinction as the first residential, coeducational labor college in the United States. Commonwealth College, situated near Mena, Arkansas, in 1925, was known as the Brookwood of the southwest. Work Peoples' College, which originated in 1903 in Duluth, Minnesota, evolved from a Finnish folk high school to a workers' school and achieved the greatest longevity of the labor colleges.
In order to draw some conclusions about the role of education in this social movement, this study focuses on (1) how workers' social and educational experiences led to a perceived need for their own labor colleges; (2) the ideological origins and sources of support for the labor colleges; (3) a comparative examination of the social and educational purposes and programs and struggles of the labor colleges; and, (4) an analysis of the labor college contributions to the American labor movement.
Radical workers who were dissatisfied with the existing social structure and the social institutions which supported it, particularly the public school system and the American Federation of Labor, fashioned the labor college movement during the early 1900's. Influenced and supported by the radical ideology of the Socialist Party of America, the Industrial Workers of the World, and liberal social theories, the founders and supporters of the labor college movement argued that the education of workers in a full-time, structured labor college curriculum better prepared them for service in the labor movement as organizers and leaders than did traditional colleges. The independent, residential labor colleges maintained theoretical as well as practical experiences in their educational programs. The schools sought to eliminate social distinctions on campus and in the classroom. At Brookwood and Commonwealth, students spent a portion of their time off-campus organizing and supporting unions and strikes, and on-campus everyone assumed work tasks. Because of their social and educational purposes and programs, the labor colleges antagonized many employers, union bureaucrats, and politicians, and experienced considerable external harassment and internal struggle. The study concludes that the labor college movement made a valuable contribution to the labor movement by training many labor leaders and activists in the struggle for collective bargaining rights. Brookwood ceased operations in 1937 and Work Peoples' College and Commonwealth closed in 1941. The three schools collectively accounted for more than sixty years of workers' education.
The study relies heavily on school bulletins, correspondence, publications, newspapers, and other primary documents from the labor colleges. Archives used include the Immigration History Research Center, at the University of Minnesota; the Walter Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University; and the New York City Public Library."
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MPACT Scores for Richard James Altenbaugh A = 0
C = 1
A+C = 1
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:28:56
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