{"product_id":"coercion-contract-and-free-labor-in-the-nineteenth-century-paperback-9780521774000","title":"Coercion, Contract, and Free Labor in the Nineteenth Century (Paperback) 9780521774000","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eCoercion, Contract, and Free Labor in the Nineteenth Century\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePresents a fundamental reassessment of the nature of wage labor in the nineteenth century.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eRobert J. Steinfeld (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780521774000, Cambridge University Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback, published 5 February 2001\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e342 pages, 1 b\/w illus.  2 maps  3 tables\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.5 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e'A fascinating account is given of the shift that occurred during the mid- nineteenth century from long-term contracts enforced by criminal penalties to open-ended minute' contracts with agreed periods of notice … The important message today of this persuasive study is that the weakening of trade unions, and the revival of the myths of labour flexibility, may lead to the erosion of the freedom of employment contracts.' Labour History Review\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eThis book presents a fundamental reassessment of the nature of wage labor in the nineteenth century, focusing on the common use of penal sanctions in England to enforce wage labor agreements. Professor Steinfeld argues that wage workers were not employees at will but were often bound to their employment by enforceable labor agreements, which employers used whenever available to manage their labor costs and supply. In the northern United States, where employers normally could not use penal sanctions, the common law made other contract remedies available, also placing employers in a position to enforce labor agreements. Modern free wage labor only came into being late in the nineteenth century, as a result of reform legislation that restricted the contract remedies employers could legally use.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eIntroduction: free wage labor in the history of the West\u003cbr\u003e Part I. American Contract Labor and English Wage Labor: The Use of Pecuniary and Nonpecuniary Pressure: 1. 'Free' contract labor in the United States: an anti-essentialist view of labor types I\u003cbr\u003e 2. 'Unfree' wage labor in nineteenth-century England: an anti-essentialist view of labor types II\u003cbr\u003e 3. Explaining the legal content of English wage labor\u003cbr\u003e 4. Struggles over the rules: the Common Law Courts, parliament, the people, and the master and servant acts\u003cbr\u003e 5. Struggles under the rules: strategic behavior and historical change in legal context\u003cbr\u003e 6. Struggles to change the rules\u003cbr\u003e 7. Freedom of contract and freedom of person\u003cbr\u003e Part II. 'Free' and 'Unfree' Labor in the United States: 8. 'Involuntary servitude' in American fundamental law\u003cbr\u003e 9. Labor contract enforcement in the American north\u003cbr\u003e Conclusion.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Modern%20history%20to%2020th%20century:%20c%201700%20to%20c%201900%20%5BHBLL%5D%22\"\u003eHBLL\u003c\/a\u003e], History of the Americas [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on History of the Americas\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22History%20of%20the%20Americas%20%5BHBJK%5D%22\"\u003eHBJK\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45912977080600,"sku":"9780521774000","price":34.89,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/products\/9780521774000i_70fcb1f4-4d0f-4b25-8979-a7c21e6f4ddd.jpg?v=1691367801","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/coercion-contract-and-free-labor-in-the-nineteenth-century-paperback-9780521774000","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}