Gerald Friedman's study of labor movements in France and the U.S. breathes new life into the old labor history. It joins the growing literature on American exceptionalism, distinguishing itself by the use of systematic cross-national comparisons to explore the roots of union growth and politics. The book's explanation for national differences discounts working-class culture and agency in favor of labor leadership, employer organization, and, above all, political institutions. 1 Friedman's account centers on the fate of republicanism in the U.S. and France.
Class conflict appears here as a struggle between rival interpretations of republican traditions.
For Friedman, it was the outcome of this struggle that steered France and the U.S. in different directions. In France, a persistent threat from the right helped sustain a broad popular coalition in support of the republic, one that gave workers some protection against hostile state policies and employer actions. In the U.S., there was a much weaker challenge to democratic government after the Civil War and a much stronger offensive by employers in response to labor militancy during the 1870s and 1880s. With American labor and its version of republicanism politically marginalized, government policies and laws turned against unions and offered little protection against employer attacks. Labor historians will probably not share Friedman's view that these influences have hitherto been overlooked.