Background
Eggert, Gerald Gordon was born on April 12, 1926 in Berrien County, Michigan, United States. Son of Gordon De Witt and Marguerite (Inman) Eggert.
(Fascinating and scholarly examination of the often errati...)
Fascinating and scholarly examination of the often erratic development of federal policy towards railroad labor unrest. The strike against the Baltimore & Ohio in 1877 triggered a wave of violent nationwide protests that precipitated the use of federal troops to restore order, one of many decisions -- some blundering, some enlightened -- that the government would make over the next few decades. The author examines the backgrounds, interests and ambitions of those who shaped federal policy, the lack of congressional leadership, and the often erratic planning by the executive branch, all of which often pulled the courts into a larger role than might otherwise have occurred. Particularly in times of crisis, he argues, chance and accident played as much a role in setting policy as reason and forethought. Covers the Burlington Strike, Coxey's Army and the Great Northern strike, and the Chicago Railway Strike (Pullman) Strike of 1894 in detail. "Riots" and "insurrections" were quelled by troops; injunctions were used to fight "conspiracy to obstruct the mails" and the hampering interstate commerce, and strikes were even deemed violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act. It was not until after the Pullman Strike of 1894 and passage of the Erdman Act that the government accepted the principle of collective bargaining. Later, many of the procedures worked out during railroad strikes were used in labor disputes in the coal, steel and automobile industries and still influence government policy today. 313 pages with index.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006BQBW4/?tag=2022091-20
( Gerald G. Eggert provides a fascinating inside view of ...)
Gerald G. Eggert provides a fascinating inside view of top steel officials arguing their positions on various labor reforms—stock purchase plans, employer liability, employee representation, and elimination of the twelve-hour shift and seven-day work week, during the late eighteen and early nineteenth century.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0822985551/?tag=2022091-20
( In 1850, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was a community like...)
In 1850, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was a community like many others in the U. S., employing most of its citizens in trade and commerce. Unlike its larger neighbors, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Harrisburg had not yet experienced firsthand the Industrial Revolution. Within a decade, however, Harrisburg boasted a cotton textile mill, two blast furnaces and several iron rolling mills, a railroad car manufactory, and a machinery plant. This burst of industrial activity naturally left its mark on the community, by within two generations most industry had left Harrisburg, and its economic base was shifting toward white-collar governmental administration and services. Harrisburg Industrializes looks at this critical episode in Harrisburg's history to discover how the coming of the factory system affected the life of the community. Eggert begins with the earliest years of Harrisburg, describing its transformation from a frontier town to a small commercial and artisanal community. He identifies the early entrepreneurs who built the banking, commercial, and transportation infrastructure, which would provide the basis for industry at mid-century. Eggert then reconstructs the development of the principal manufacturing firms from their foundings, through the expansive post-Civil War era, to the onset of deindustrialization near the end of the century. Through census and company records, he is able to follow the next generation of craftsmen and entrepreneurs as well as the new industrial workers—many of then minorities—who came to the city after 1850. Eggert sees Harrisburg's experience with the factory system as "second-stage," or imitative, industrialization, which was typical of many, if not most, communities that developed factory production. At those relatively few industrial centers (Lowell and Pittsburgh, for example) where new technologies arose and were aggressively impose on workers, the consequences were devastating, often causing alienation, rebellion, and repression. By contrast, at secondary centers like Harrisburg (or Reading, Scranton, or Wilmington), industrialization came later, was derivative rather than creative, was modest in scale, and focused on local and regional markets. Because the new factories did not compete with local crafts, few displaced artisans became factory hands. At the same time, an adequate supply of local native-born workers forestalled an influx of immigrants, so Harrisburg experienced little ethnic hostility. Ultimately, therefore, Eggert concludes that the introduction of an industrial order was much less disruptive in Harrisburg than in the major industrial sites, primarily because it did not alter so profoundly the existing economic and social order.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0271008555/?tag=2022091-20
(This study of Olney shows the interrelationships among hi...)
This study of Olney shows the interrelationships among his private life, his personality, and his public career highlighting his contributions (as the leading member of Grover Cleveland's second administration) to the major domestic and foreign problems of the era. Historians have noted Olney's penchant for lashing out harshly at anyone that got in his way, his conflicts of interest as Attorney General, his diplomatic shortcomings as Secretary of State. Usually overlooked, however, was Olney's ability to learn from his mistakes and to work out solutions to the problems he stirred up. Not only did he beat down the Pullman Strikers, but he afterwards fought for compulsory arbitration of railway labor disputes. He not only brought about a confrontation with Britain over the Venezuelan boundary, but went on to negotiate a treaty providing for the general arbitration of all disputes between the United States and Britain. Although Olney was an enemy of the Sherman Antitrust Act, he saw the need to couple acceptance of big business with strong governmental regulation. Olney also called for the acceptance of organized labor to serve as a countervailing power against the power of big business. The stereotype of Olney as an aggressive, unthinking conservative is corrected by Professor Eggert, who shows that Olney's conservatism did not prevent him from entertaining ideas that ran ahead of the time.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0271011629/?tag=2022091-20
Eggert, Gerald Gordon was born on April 12, 1926 in Berrien County, Michigan, United States. Son of Gordon De Witt and Marguerite (Inman) Eggert.
Bachelor of Arts, Western Michigan U., 1949; Master of Arts, University of Michigan, 1951; Doctor of Philosophy, University Michigan, 1960.
Teacher social studies, secondary Public school, Battle Creek, Michigan, 1949-1954; instructor history, U. Maryland., College Park, 1957-1960; assistant professor of history, Bowling Green State University, Ohio, 1960-1965; assistant professor American history, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 1965-1967; associate professor, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 1967-1972; professor, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 1972-1991; professor emeritus, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, since 1991; head department, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 1980-1985.
(This study of Olney shows the interrelationships among hi...)
(Fascinating and scholarly examination of the often errati...)
( In 1850, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was a community like...)
( Gerald G. Eggert provides a fascinating inside view of ...)
Served with United States Army, 1946-1948. Member Pennsylvania History Association.
Married Jean Higgins, June 20, 1953. Children: Michael Leroy, Susan Diane, Christine Elizabeth.