Employers and the Battle for the Closed Shop

Abstract

Hall of Fame for Great Americans. As part of this project, they had established the McCormick Biographical Association in 1900 and employed historical laborers to perform research, organize libraries, and write narratives. After the conclusion of the antitrust suit in 1918, the company scaled back its public educational efforts and began promoting academic history to legitimize its heritage. CyrusMcCormick II agreed to provide financial support for theMVHA’s new journal with the understanding that the organization would help protect and promote the McCormick legacy. As Ott demonstrates, the McCormick family and the MVHA shared a common interest in promoting the historical significance of the Midwest and charting the “westwardmarch of American civilization.” (165) TheMVHAwas responsible for the hiring of historianHerbert Kellar by theMcCormickHistorical Association, the successor to the Biographical Association. As the name change suggests, the new organization had broader goals than simply documenting the life and accomplishments of Cyrus McCormick. Kellar worked there from 1915 until 1955, and with his guidance, it became a significant repository of manuscripts documenting the larger history of agriculture. In Harvesting History, Ott illuminates the close and mutually beneficial relationship between corporations and the historical profession during theGildedAge andProgressive Era. Both shared an interpretation of the past that saw the development of big business as a natural and inevitable outcome of historical forces. Perhaps most significantly, Ott makes a strong case for including historians among the cadre of white-collar workers who helped create the modern corporation. Far from bystanders, historians inside and outside traditional academic institutions performed essential labor that made American corporate capitalism possible.