The Tramp in America

The Tramp in America

Author: Tim Cresswell

Publisher: Reaktion Books

Published: 2004-06-01

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 1861895682

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This book provides the first account of the invention of the tramp as a social type in the United States between the 1870s and the 1930s. Tim Cresswell considers the ways in which the tramp was imagined and described and how, by World War II, it was being reclassified and rendered invisible. He describes the "tramp scare" of the late nineteenth century and explores the assumption that tramps were invariably male and therefore a threat to women. Cresswell also examines tramps as comic figures and looks at the work of prominent American photographers which signaled a sympathetic portrayal of this often-despised group. Perhaps most significantly, The Tramp in America calls into question the common assumption that mobility played a central role in the production of American identity. “This is an effective, and sometimes touching, account of how a social phenomenon was created, classified and reclassified. The quality of the writing, the excellent illustrations and the high production standards give this reasonably-priced hardback a chance of appealing to a general audience . . . an important contribution to American studies, providing new perspectives on the significance of mobility and rootlessness at an important time in the development of the nation. Cresswell successfully illuminates the history of a disadvantaged and marginal group, while providing a lens by which to focus on the thinking and practices of the mainstream culture with which they dealt. As such, this book represents a considerable achievement.”—Cultural Geographies “An important book. Cresswell has made an important contribution to a homelessness literature still lacking a more sophisticated theoretical edge. Clearly written, beautifully illustrated and with a strong argument throughout, the book deserves to be widely read by students and practitioners alike.”—Progress in Human Geography


Tramps & Trade Union Travelers

Tramps & Trade Union Travelers

Author: Kim Moody

Publisher: Haymarket Books

Published: 2019-08-13

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 1608467570

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From the author of On New Terrain, a historical examination of why American workers never organized in early industrial America and what it means today. Why has there been no viable, independent labor party in the United States? Many people assert “American exceptionalist” arguments, which state a lack of class-consciousness and union tradition among American workers is to blame. While the racial, ethnic, and gender divisions within the American working class have created organizational challenges for the working class, Moody uses archival research to argue that despite their divisions, workers of all ethnic and racial groups in the Gilded Age often displayed high levels of class consciousness and political radicalism. In place of “American exceptionalism,” Moody contends that high levels of internal migration during the late 1800s created instability in the union and political organizations of workers. Because of the tumultuous conditions brought on by the uneven industrialization of early American capitalism, millions of workers became migrants, moving from state to state and city to city. The organizational weakness that resulted undermined efforts by American workers to build independent labor-based parties in the 1880s and 1890s. Using detailed research and primary sources, Moody traces how it was that “pure-and-simple” unionism would triumph by the end of the century despite the existence of a significant socialist minority in organized labor at that time. “Terrific . . . An entirely original take on . . . why American labor was virtually unique in failing to build its own political party. But there’s much more: in investigating labor migration and the ‘tramp’ phenomenon in the Gilded Age, he discovers fascinating parallels with today's struggles of immigrant workers.” —Mike Davis, author of Prisoners of the American Dream


Tramp Printers

Tramp Printers

Author: John M. Howells

Publisher: John Howells

Published: 1996-06

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 9780965097901

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Beginning with the invention of movable type in the 15th century, itinerant artisans roamed the highways and byways of the world, working where and when they pleased. It all ended five centuries later, when computer typesetting replaced humans. Mark Twain, Bret Harte, Horace Greely (along with legions of much less famous printers) plied their trade and enjoyed adventures as tramp printers until it all suddenly vanished in the mid 1970s. A sociological study, as seen through the eyes of tramp printers themselves. Footloose and carefree, these adventurers enjoyed 500 years of freedom, working where and when they pleased. A vanished breed, today they live on through recollections, anecdotes, and memories of how it used to be, when printers worked with "real type."