This course provides a historical context for the rise of organized labor in the United States with a special focus on the Mon Valley. Participants in this course will receive information relative to the trends and events that have shaped United States history in a variety of ways while focusing on case studies specific to the Pittsburgh region. The instructors for this course will engage participants in discussion while utilizing a variety of learning methods such as lecture, film, and primary sources and images.March 31 - Class 1: Natives and Settlers"High Muddy Banks," a Queen and a President, the Battle of the Monongahela, the conquest of the Forks of the Ohio, and a Spirited "Whiskey" Rebellion.April 7 - Class 2: Working-class CultureWomen, minorities, immigrants to the United States, paid and unpaid labor, "skilled" and "unskilled" labor, the "patch" and the company town.April 14 - Class 3: The Impact of IndustrializationFarms and orchards, the struggle against slavery, from iron to steel, rebellion on the rails, the Battle of HomesteadApril 21 - Class 4: The Non-union EraIrish, Slavs, and African Americans, 1919: the Great Steel "Hunky" Strike, Mother Jones in the Mon Valley, Mellon Rule, Out of the FurnaceApril 28 - Class 5: The Two World WarsRepression and cooperation, new workers/new roles, an "arsenal of democracy."May 5 - Class 6: Organization and UnionizationThe rise of the United Mine Workers, the Steel Workers Organizing Committee, the United Steelworkers, AliquippaMay 12 - Class 7: The Challenges of a Post-World War II WorldProsperity in the valley, Donora smog, 1959 Steel Strike, 1979-1986: A Steeler Nation - remnants and resistance.May 19 - Class 8: Current Events and the Fate of the Steel IndustryTrade agreements, challenges to organized labor, course conclusion. * Please see printed Training and Education Guide for instructor biographies.
