In this illuminating survey of American labor from the 1820s to the present, Daniel Nelson looks for the reasons why union activity has ebbed and flowed since the onset of the Industrial Revolution. Rather than simply summarizing other people's books, Mr. Neson offers an original and provocative view of the union experience in America.

Chapter 1: Union Growth in Perspective
Chapter 2: Miners and Organized Labor
Chapter 3: Urban Workers and Organized Labor
Chapter 4: New Environments, New Challenges, 1897-1930
Chapter 5: The Labor Movement at High Tide, 1930-1953
Chapter 6: The Decline of American Labor