The Political Economy of Early Southern Unionism: Race, Politics, and Labor in the South, 1880–1953

@article{Friedman2000ThePE,
  title={The Political Economy of Early Southern Unionism: Race, Politics, and Labor in the South, 1880–1953},
  author={Gerald Friedman},
  journal={The Journal of Economic History},
  year={2000},
  volume={60},
  pages={384 - 413}
}
  • G. Friedman
  • Published 1 June 2000
  • History
  • The Journal of Economic History
Southern unions were the weak link in the American labor movement, organizing a smaller share of the labor force than did unions in the northern states or in Europe. Structural conditions, including a racially divided rural population, obstructed southern unionization. The South's distinctive political system also blocked unionization. A strict racial code compelling whites to support the Democratic Party and the disfranchisement of southern blacks and many working-class whites combined to… 
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