Radicals of the Worst Sort: Laboring Women in Lawrence, Massachusetts, 1860-1912

by Ardis Cameron

Ardis Cameron focuses on the textile workers' strikes of 1882 and 1912 in this examination of class and gender formation as drawn from the experience and language of the working-class neighborhoods of Lawrence, Massachusetts. Using the neighborhood perspective to explore the role of women in worker militancy, Cameron reveals the importance of female networks and organizational life in working-class culture and politics. Unionized women were labeled "radicals of the worst sort" because, in fighting for equality, they also rebelled against traditional economic and sexual hierarchies. Oral histories and detailed maps illuminate the setting and the dramatic story behind the famous Bread and Roses strike of 1912.

Genres: History, Labor, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Priscilla Herrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent addition to the fields of Women's History and Labor History.

This was especially interesting to me because my great-grandmother came to Lawrence by herself at age 17 to work in the mills. Radicals of the Worst Sort is a piece of my personal history.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

how did previous scholars ignore women for so long????

[Andy Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scholarly. Read like a thesis. A real kick in the pants to the whole idea of cultural conservatism.