Industrial Pioneers
Scranton, Pennsylvania and the Transformation of America, 1840-1902
By: Patrick Brown
Published: June 10, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 142 pages
ISBN-10: 0982256558
ISBN-13: 978-0982256558
Publisher: Tribute Books
"During the nineteenth century Scranton served as the face of a rising America, and a hub of technology and innovation", writes teacher and native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Patrick Brown in his insightful and engaging history book Industrial Pioneers: Scranton, Pennsylvania and the Transformation of America, 1840-1902. The author describes, with honesty and authenticity, the rise of Scranton, Pennsylvania to industrial leadership and the attempts of its residents to keep pace with the rapid transformation of American industry, social values, and culture.
Patrick Brown begins his analysis of Scranton's history in the early growth period of the community between 1940 and 1860. During that developmental phase, the author describes what he calls the village blacksmith ideology. That outlook on life was egalitarian, and craftspeople derived pride and respect from the dignity of their work. With the onset of the Civil War, and its aftermath, America began a process of unprecedented expansion of industry. The author points out that accompanying this rapid industrialization were the conflict between labor and capital. At the same time, labor was divided by ethnicity. The people of Scranton retained their pre-industrial ideology of the independent crafts person, and of the dignity of the laborer and of the work itself. This worldview became incompatible with the transition from independent producers to large scale industrialization. The author writes well about the rising conflict between labor and capital, and the early attempts at unionization and collective bargaining.
Patrick Brown (photo left) recognizes that the village blacksmith ideology prevented the internalization of a working class identity. The attempts to reconcile the aspirations of worker and industry failed despite the efforts of labor leaders in Scranton. The nineteenth century capitalist ideal and the rising power of organized labor was inconceivable to the mindset of the residents of Scranton. The rapid changes in the industrial economy and the disrespect shown to the workers by mine and industry owners was discordant with the pre-industrial view that labor deserved respect and dignity. That failure to evolve their views of themselves, and of the changed value of labor in a capitalist society had serious repercussions for the workers of Scranton. The latter nineteenth century in Scranton saw some very violent strikes and employer crackdowns, as the community felt a loss of their ideological moorings. The end of the century saw labor demand higher wages and attempts by capital to divide workers on ethnic grounds and of movement of industry to unorganized areas.
For me, the power of the book is how Patrick Brown presents a clear and well documented history of the social, cultural and economic history of nineteenth century Scranton, Pennsylvania. The author follows the history of the city from the beginnings of industrialization through the development of the capitalist and organized labor. The crux of the author's thesis, that the inability of the people to adapt or change their pre-industrial world view of work and labor, is compelling as a study of slow social change in the face of rapid industrial and economic change. For the author, the older ideologies were insufficient to meet the challenges presented by the rise of big industry and big labor. There are lessons for today's society as well. With the change of the economy to a post-industrial model, the worldviews and ideologies of the industrial age - precisely the ones that the residents of Scranton were unable to grasp - are insufficient for our own future. in that sense, the book draws upon the experiences of the past as a cautionary tale for those who seek to perpetuate outdated mindsets. Those who are unable to change and adapt will fail to meet the challenges of the new economic order, and fall by the wayside of history.
I highly recommend the intriguing and timely history book Industrial Pioneers: Scranton, Pennsylvania and the Transformation of America, 1840-1902 by Patrick Brown, to anyone seeking a history book that speaks to today's issues of economic and social change in an engaging and personal way. The struggles of the people pf Scranton evoke our deepest understanding as they felt overwhelmed by economic and cultural forces that were in almost direct opposition to their own long held beliefs. We can empathize with the people who tried to see the changing world through their outdated ideological lenses. Their views of labor and work as having dignity and deserving of respect are commendable and ones with which anyone can identify. That worldview failed in the face of the advances of industrial capitalism and organized labor movements.
Read the well written and balanced chronicle Industrial Pioneers: Scranton, Pennsylvania and the Transformation of America, 1840-1902 by Patrick Brown, and discover how an inability to change can spell economic and cultural disaster for a community unable to grasp the implications of resisting change. Even change that may be seen as dangerous and harmful must be understood and met with a suitable worldview that addresses the threat and potential results of that change. Failure to meet the challenge of economic and social change can end in disaster for those who can't or won't understand the new order.
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