James R. Barrett is an emeritus professor of history at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and scholar in residence at the Newberry Library. He is the author of History from the Bottom Up and the Inside Out: Ethnicity, Race, and Identity in Working-Class History.

10.16.2024

• Shelton Stromquist
• James R. Barrett

David Montgomery’s Labor History Is Essential Reading

One of the great labor scholars of the 20th century, David Montgomery was determined to place workers at the center of US history. For Montgomery, rigorous historical analysis couldn’t be divorced from engagement with the working class.