Labor history is often reduced to a story of unions, strikes, and legislative battles—but David Montgomery saw it as something far more intimate: the story of ordinary people shaping their work, their communities, and the very fabric of American democracy. As one of the 20th century’s most influential labor historians, Montgomery transformed how scholars and activists understand the role of workers in U.S. history, moving beyond top-down narratives to center the agency, creativity, and struggles of those who built the nation’s industrial economy. His work, rooted in his own experience as a machinist, continues to resonate today, offering critical insights into the challenges facing modern workers in an era of gig jobs, automation, and growing economic inequality.
Early Life and the Making of a Historian
David Montgomery’s journey to academia was not a straight line. Born in 1927 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, he grew up in a family with deep ties to the labor movement—his father was a union organizer, and his mother was a social worker. But it was his own experience as a machinist in the 1940s and 1950s that would leave an indelible mark on his scholarship. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, Montgomery worked in factories in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where he witnessed firsthand the tensions between workers and management, the power of collective action, and the ways workers adapted technology to their own needs. These experiences taught him that workers were not passive victims of industrialization but active agents in shaping their work lives.
Montgomery later pursued higher education, earning a bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College in 1950 and a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1962. His doctoral dissertation, which focused on the labor movement in the Gilded Age, laid the groundwork for his future research. But unlike many historians of his time, who focused on union leaders or political figures, Montgomery centered the voices of rank-and-file workers—their daily struggles, their informal organizing, and their efforts to control the conditions of their labor.
Re-defining Labor History: Agency Over Victimhood
One of David Montgomery’s most enduring contributions to labor history was his rejection of the “victim narrative” that dominated much of the field in the mid-20th century. Instead of portraying workers as powerless against the forces of capitalism and industrialization, Montgomery argued that workers actively negotiated their roles in the workplace, using a variety of strategies—from slowdowns and sabotage to informal work groups and community organizing—to assert control over their labor.
In his 1979 book Workers’ Control in America: Studies in the History of Work, Technology, and Labor Struggles, Montgomery explored how workers in industries like steel, textiles, and railroads shaped the technology and processes of their work. For example, he documented how machinists modified factory equipment to make their jobs easier or more efficient, even when management opposed such changes. This focus on “workers’ control” challenged the prevailing view that technology was imposed on workers from above, highlighting instead the dynamic interaction between labor and capital.
Montgomery also emphasized the intersection of race and labor—a topic often overlooked in early labor history. In Beyond Equality: Labor and the Radical Republicans, 1862-1872, he examined how Black and white workers collaborated (and sometimes clashed) during Reconstruction, as they fought for better wages, working conditions, and political rights. He argued that the Radical Republicans’ failure to address the economic needs of working people—both Black and white—contributed to the collapse of Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow. This work paved the way for later scholars to explore the links between racial justice and labor activism.
Key Works and Their Enduring Impact
Montgomery’s body of work is vast, but three books stand out as cornerstones of modern labor history:
Beyond Equality: Labor and the Radical Republicans (1967)
This book re-examined the Reconstruction era through the lens of labor. Montgomery argued that the Radical Republicans, while committed to racial equality, failed to address the economic exploitation of workers—both freedmen and white laborers. He showed how working-class people in the South and North organized to demand land reform, fair wages, and an end to child labor, but their efforts were undermined by corporate interests and political compromise. Beyond Equality remains a key text for understanding the connections between race, class, and politics in post-Civil War America.
Workers’ Control in America (1979)
As mentioned earlier, this collection of essays challenged the idea that workers were passive recipients of industrial technology. Montgomery documented how workers used their knowledge and skills to shape the workplace, from modifying machinery to creating informal work rules. He argued that workers’ control was not just a tactic for resistance but a fundamental part of their identity and agency. This book has been influential in fields like industrial sociology and technology studies, as well as labor history.
Citizen Worker: The Experience of Workers in the United States (1993)
In this magnum opus, Montgomery traced the history of American workers from the early 19th century to the end of the Gilded Age. He explored how workers understood their roles as citizens and how they fought to reconcile their desire for economic security with the ideals of democracy and the free market. Montgomery showed that workers were not just economic actors but political agents, who used strikes, boycotts, and voting to demand a more equitable society. Citizen Worker is widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive histories of American labor ever written.
Montgomery’s Influence on Modern Labor Studies
David Montgomery’s ideas continue to shape labor studies today, especially in an era where workers face new challenges like gig work, automation, and the erosion of union power. For example, his focus on workers’ agency has been applied to the gig economy, where workers use apps and social media to organize and demand better pay and conditions. His work on race and labor has also been critical for scholars studying the intersection of racial justice and labor activism, such as the Fight for $15 movement, which has brought together Black, Latino, and white workers to demand a living wage.
Montgomery’s legacy is also evident in the growing field of “working-class studies,” which seeks to center the experiences of working people in academic research and public discourse. His emphasis on the importance of listening to workers’ voices has inspired a new generation of historians to conduct oral histories, analyze workers’ letters and diaries, and engage with community organizations.
Conclusion: Why David Montgomery Matters Today
David Montgomery passed away in 2011, but his work remains as relevant as ever. In a time when economic inequality is at its highest level in decades, and workers are facing unprecedented challenges, his insights into the power of worker agency, the intersection of race and class, and the link between labor and democracy are more important than ever. Montgomery taught us that labor history is not just about the past—it’s about understanding the present and shaping the future. As we continue to fight for a more equitable society, we would do well to remember his words: “Workers are not just the subject of history; they are its makers.”
Whether we’re discussing the gig economy, the fight for a living wage, or the struggle for racial justice in the workplace, David Montgomery’s legacy reminds us that ordinary people have the power to change the world. His work challenges us to look beyond the headlines and see the humanity in every worker—and to recognize that their struggles are our struggles too.