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Women's Work and Politics in WWI America

The Munsingwear Family of Minneapolis

  • Book
  • © 2018

Overview

Authors:
  1. Lars Olsson

    1. Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden

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  • Presents the first scholarly study of the Northwestern Knitting Company
  • Highlights the importance of women’s work for the US war effort during WWI
  • Examines the strategies of the Northwestern Knitting Company to Americanize their female immigrant employees and prevent unionization

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Lars Olsson
    Pages 1-16

  3. The Political Economy of Minneapolis

    • Lars Olsson
    Pages 17-41

  4. The Northwestern Knitting Company—Makers of Munsing Wear

    • Lars Olsson
    Pages 43-81

  5. Divided Work—Women and Men at Work for the Company

    • Lars Olsson
    Pages 83-138

  6. A Non-union Shop

    • Lars Olsson
    Pages 139-157

  7. “The Munsingwear Family”: Industrial Welfare and Paternalism

    • Lars Olsson
    Pages 159-216

  8. Progressivism and Social Work for Women in Minneapolis

    • Lars Olsson
    Pages 217-246

  9. One People, One Language, One Nation: “The Munsingwear Family” in the Anglo-Americanization Process

    • Lars Olsson
    Pages 247-272

  10. The Munsingwear Family of Minneapolis at War: Conclusions

    • Lars Olsson
    Pages 273-286

  11. Back Matter

    Pages 287-301
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Keywords

About this book

By World War I, the Northwestern Knitting Company was the largest workplace for gainfully employed women in Minnesota and the largest garment factory in the United States. Lars Olsson investigates the interplay of class, gender, marital status, ethnicity, and race in the labor relations at the factory, illuminating the lives of the women who worked there. Representing thirty nationalities, particularly Scandinavian, the women worked long hours for low pay in roles that were strictly divided along ethnic and gendered lines, while the company directors and stockholders made enormous profits off of their labor. Management developed paternal strategies to bind the workers to the company and preempt unionization, including bonus programs, minstrel shows, and a pioneering industrial welfare program. With the US entry into the war, the company was contracted to produce underwear for soldiers, and management expanded the metaphor of "the Munsingwear Family" to construct not just company loyalty, but national loyalty. This book sheds new light on women's labor in WWI and the lives of textile workers in the United States.

Reviews

“Lars Olsson has crafted a unique analysis that focuses on intersections of class, gender, ethnicity, race, and the experience of work at the Northwestern Knitting Company. Women's Work and Politics in WWI America contends that, in their manufacture of underwear for the troops, women workers directly supported America’s cause by clothing its heroes during wartime—a motto encouraged through heavy-handed paternalism that preached loyalty through hard work. A must-read for scholars and students interested in Progressivism, women’s work during WWI, and labor history.” (Erika K. Jackson, Associate Professor of History, Colorado Mesa University, USA, and author of Scandinavians in Chicago: The Origins of White Privilege in Modern America)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden

    Lars Olsson

About the author

Lars Olsson is Professor Emeritus of History at Linnaeus University, Sweden.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Women's Work and Politics in WWI America

  • Book Subtitle: The Munsingwear Family of Minneapolis

  • Authors: Lars Olsson

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90215-9

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-90214-2Published: 16 July 2018

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-07964-2Published: 03 January 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-90215-9Published: 28 June 2018

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIII, 301

  • Number of Illustrations: 8 b/w illustrations, 1 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: US History, Labor History, Women's Studies, Political History, Historical Sociology

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