Uneasy Allies: Working for Labor Reform in Nineteenth-Century Boston

Acknowledgments

xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book has been many years in the making and I have amassed many debts in bringing it to completion. Generous support from the American Antiquarian Society, American Council of Learned Societies, American Historical Association, American Philosophical Society, Massachusetts Historical Society , and the National Endowment for the Humanities facilitated research for this project. Both the University of Wisconsin–Madison and North Carolina State University granted me research leaves to complete significant portions of the manuscript. Staff at the following archives and libraries helped me immensely in finding a wealth of sources, and granting me permission to publish material in their collections where applicable: Boston Public Library, Houghton Library at Harvard University, Library of Congress, Massachusetts Historical Society, Massachusetts State Archives, National Archives, New York Public Library, Schlesinger Library at Harvard University, and the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. The librarians at North Carolina State University deserve a special thank-you for tracking down many unusual and obscure interlibrary loan requests. Several graduate student research assistants worked long hours combing through reels of microfilm and cartons of uncatalogued nineteenth-century pamphlets: Robert Avery, Steven Chudnick, Maureen Conklin, Javan Frazier, Corinne Glover, Daniel Graff, and Paul Taillon all have my deepest gratitude for their hard work. Colleagues here at North Carolina State University—past and present—read various chapters in multiple stages of revision. I am especially grateful to David Ambaras, Jim Banker, Ross Bassett, Matthew Booker, Holly Brewer, Jim Crisp, Alex DeGrand, Craig Friend, David Gilmartin, Bill Harris, Joe Hobbs, Owen Kalinga, Akram Khater, Mimi Kim, Will Kimler, Tony Lavopa, Keith Luria, Steve Middleton, Nancy Mitchell, Gail O’Brien, Jonathan Ocko, xii Acknowledgments Tom Parker, John Riddle, Rich Slatta, John David Smith, Jerry Surh, Ken Vickery, and Steve Vincent for all their wise counsel. Other scholars also read portions of the manuscript and offered very constructive criticism that I hope made this a better book: thanks to Mary Blewett, Ardis Cameron, Mary Ann Clawson, Sarah Deutsch, Ileen DeVault, Rebecca Edwards, Eric Foner, Kenneth Fones-Wolf, William Freehling, Lawrence Glickman, Brian Greenberg, Gregory Kaster, Jama Lazerow, Timothy Messer-Kruse, David Roediger, Sal Salerno, Richard Schneirov, Shelton Stromquist, and an anonymous reader for University of Massachusetts Press. Jonathan Prude merits extra special recognition because he read this entire book in several drafts, and each time pressed me to sharpen my arguments and see the big picture. At University of Massachusetts Press, Clark Dougan saw the promise in this project and encouraged me to complete the work, Carol Betsch shepherded the manuscript through the production process, and Pat Sterling provided a deft hand at copyediting. Finally, this book is dedicated to my mother—who kept asking me when I was ever going to finish this darn thing—and the memory of my father—who first nurtured my desire to learn about history and so many other things in the world. UNEASY ALLIES ...