Why Is There No Labor Party in the United States?

Robin Archer is director of the postgraduate program in political sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He was previously the fellow in politics at Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford.

"In an intriguing and elegant exposition of comparative history, Archer uses the labour politics of the 1890s in both countries to illustrate the similarities and the differences between the two societies ... the innovative quality of Archer's approach, together with the clarity of its exposition, will unsettle established opinions and rejuvenate what has been a venerable debate into an altogether fresher controversy."--Michael Foley, Times Higher Education "Most conventional explanations have relied on comparisons with Europe. Such analyses tend to highlight factors like levels of relative prosperity, early suffrage, racial hostility, and commitment to social-egalitarian values...[Archer] proposes that the more useful comparison is between the United States and Australia, which did establish a labor party in 1891. By contrasting those two New World countries, Archer reveals that the most widely accepted causes are not in fact responsible, and that they often had effects that were the opposite of those that are usually ascribed to them."--Evan Goldstein, Chronicle of Higher Education "It seemed everything had been said about this enduring question of US history, a deceptively simple question that goes to the heart of whether or not the US can reflect on an 'exceptional' history, different from Europe's. Sociologist Archer has revisited this topic, and through extensive research has persuasively overturned conventional explanations for the absence of a US labor party... This new book will engage students and scholars by showcasing the potency of thoughtful comparative history."--T. Goyens, Choice "This is a book of great scholarship and painstaking research."--Jeff Shaw, Sydney Morning Herald "It's an old question, but despite the academic fashion of dismissing it, it's a question that returns in both academic and political guise with some regularity. Robin Archer of the London School of Economics gives some new answers."--Kim Moody, International Socialism "Robin Archer has done a marvelous job of revisiting an old mysterious nugget of considerable frustration to scholars and students alike of American labor studies... Archer's book makes an insightful contribution to the literature in this field as well as challenges scholar, teacher, and student alike to reexamine the reasons why America has never birthed a genuinely worker-based party. The text would be equally valuable in a labor history or political history class."--Bob Bruno, Labor Studies Journal "The books makes a valuable contribution to debates on U.S. exceptionalism. More generally, it demonstrates the strengths of comparative history... [T]he depth and scope of argument are impressive."--Michael Huberman, Industrial and Labor Relations Review "Archer's argument is extremely successful, well presented and supported by a wealth of primary and secondary research."--Raymond Markey, British Journal of Industrial Relations "Archer's account is a persuasive one, all the more forceful for its clear writing and organization, and for the detailed factual illustrations and occasional counter-examples that support its theoretical claims... Archer's ... findings will certainly push us to re-examine American labour's present, as well as its past."--Gay W. Seidman, British Journal of Sociology "Every so often a book emerges to challenge old assumptions, and Robin Archer's thoughtful new study does this admirably, offering radically new answers to the US labor party puzzle. In the process, Archer invites us to take a fresh look at American 'exceptionalism' as a whole."--John Tully, Labour History "In this volume, Archer poses the most novel and thought-provoking answer ventured in many years to one of American political history's most enduring questions. Archer takes an unusual approach to the subject, offering a comparative history of labor and politics in the United States and Australia as a means to tease out the key points that allowed Austrailians to form a labor party while Americans did not. The study is meticulous in its construction, and deeply informed on both the Australian and American contexts."--Joseph A. McCartin, Journal of Social History

• List of Figures xi List of Tables xii List of Abbreviations xiii Acknowledgments xv Introduction 1 Labor-based Parties 3 Explaining by Comparing 6 Some Possible Objections 10 Historical Overview 13 Mutual Awareness 17 Chapter Summary 19 Chapter 1: Workers 23 Prosperity 23 Skilled and Unskilled Workers 31 The Effect of the New Unionism 36 Workers and Farmers 39 Conclusion 47 Chapter 2: Race 49 The Extent of Racial Hostility 50 The Effect in Australia 55 The Effect in the United States Compared 58 European Immigration 63 Conclusion 71 Chapter 3: Elections and the Constitution 73 Early Suffrage 73 The Electoral System 77 Multimember Districts 80 The Case of Illinois 82 Federalism 84 Presidentialism 86 Conclusion 91 Chapter 4: The Courts 93 The Court Repression Thesis 93 Labor Law and the Courts 95 Union Attitudes towards Politics 98 The Effect of Court Repression 102 Conclusion 110 Chapter 5: Repression 112 Two Theses on Repression 112 The Extent of Repression 113 Soldiers and Police 121 The Effect of Repression in Australia 124 The Effect in the United States Compared 127 The Effect in Illinois Compared 133 Complexities and Qualifications 139 Conclusion 141 Chapter 6: Liberalism 143 Social Egalitarianism 145 Labor Leaders in Australia 147 Labor Leaders in the United States 152 Were Their Claims Plausible? 155 Individual Freedom 160 Labor Leaders in Australia 160 Labor Leaders in the United States 164 Were Their Claims Plausible? 168 Conclusion 175 Chapter 7: Religion 177 The Extent of Religious Involvement 178 The Nature of Religious Beliefs 179 Protestant Clergy 182 Catholic Clergy 184 The Response of Labor Leaders to Clerical Hostility 187 Religion and the Party System 188 The Late 1880s and the Early 1890s 193 The Effect in the United States 197 The Effect in Australia Compared 200 Conclusion 204 Chapter 8: Socialism 207 Left-Wing Reform Ideologies 208 Labor Parties and Left-Wing Factionalism 214 Socialists and Unionists in the United States 219 Socialists and Unionists in Australia Compared 225 Conclusion 230 Conclusion 233 Negative Findings 233 Positive Findings 237 American Politics and Society 241 Appendix: Notes and Sources for the Tables 245 Notes 257 Bibliography 299 Index 337