Labor's Promised Land

Download or read book Labor's Promised Land written by Mark Fannin and published by Univ. of Tennessee Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "By subverting customary values to promote movements in which solidarity was more powerful than social divisions, these unions challenged the very cornerstones of traditional southern society: women were encouraged to "think and act for themselves," and they assumed leadership roles within the movements; the rhetoric of race was radicalized; and the religious foundations of devout communities were shaken by an approach that reactionaries saw as explicit and often blasphemous. Thus, by upsetting the conservative values and traditions espoused by the agricultural and industrial elites, these organizations provide an important link between the promise of the South and the realization of working-class aspirations."