Worker City, Company Town: Iron and Cotton-Worker Protest in Troy and Cohoes, New York, 1855-84

The Working Class in American History

by Daniel J. Walkowitz

A study in local history. Troy, New York was a union town with many skilled Irish workers. Cohoes was a town where the paternalistic cotton mill hired unskilled French Canadian women and children.

Genres: Labor

304 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1978

Reviews

[M. Apple · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too old (1978) and factually inaccurate particularly regarding the Franco-American community in the Troy-Watervliet-Cohoes area. By focusing on two factory/industry sectors of Troy and Cohoes, the author ignores the fact that Franco-Americans had lived in the area at least thirty years prior to what he claims. The French language church of St Jean de Baptiste in South Troy is completely ignored. The area is and always has been more complicated than a “French Canadian neighborhood” and an “Irish American community” living in specific geographical locations. Reality is and was much more mixed, although there was in the past a greater tendency to live along religious lines (but not ethnic). A first look at worker-employer relationships, but flawed and biased methods to research.

[Jon Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome analytical and data focused study on two New York towns, one where labor helps sway and the other where employers had the upper hand. Classic 1970’s history from the bottom up.