Summary Of Daniel Sidorick's Condensed Capitalism
Daniel Whalen
December 3, 2015
Labor & Leisure
Dr. Batch
Sidorick, Daniel. Condensed Capitalism: Campbell Soup and the Pursuit of Cheap Production in the Twentieth Century. Ithaca: ILR Press/Cornell University Press, 2009.
Daniel Sidorick chronicles the illustrious and controversial history of the Campbell’s Soup Company that was based in Camden, New Jersey for 122 years. Condensed Capitalism details the history of the factory, led by John T. Dorrence, the President of the company who ran it with an iron fist. Campbell’s was always for the pursuit of the cheapest production and labor possible under Dorrence. The Campbell’s soup factory definitely had its issues under Dorrence, as Sidorick uses in-depth primary sources to detail the factories’ …show more content…
With the time period being so anti-communist with the onset of the “Red Scare” and the Cold War, Campbell’s capitalized on that fear by denouncing unions, which gave the business much more leverage over their workers. Campbell’s appeared to be a wholesome, family-oriented business from an outsider’s perspective, but Sidorick’s book brings to light the ruthless management of Campbell’s by Dorrence and the management. Sidorick tends to focus on several key aspects of the Camden factory in his book. The fact that Dorrence and the Campbell’s management stayed in Camden for so long seemed to be one of Sidorick’s main themes, since that is such an unusual strategy for a company so intent on gaining the greatest amount of profit and most efficient production and labor strategies. Another thing to note about Sidorick and his book is that he is undoubtedly biased leaning more towards the workers, but he does an excellent job in …show more content…
Sidorick’s book is a great scholarly book that seems to mix labor history with gender, race, and union history. Campbell’s implemented many policies that segregated their workers by race and gender, in fact they didn’t even begin the practice of hiring African-Americans until decades into the 20th century, and they were treated poorly once they did. The onset of the Red Scare was utilized tremendously by the management of Campbell’s, feeding the hysteria that the American people already had. They created divides between their workers through their anti-union propaganda and their segregation policies. Sidorick does a great job explaining the different policies that Dorrence enacted to keep a tight leash on their workers. Campbell’s utilized the Cold War, they took advantage of the longstanding racism ideals that America had already had by mistreating their African American workers, and they stayed afloat during the Great Depression due to the support from the government. The government bailed them out during times of labor shortages by helping provide them with cheaper labor from African American workers, who were “lucky” to have the job. Campbell’s used everything in their arsenal to maintain a stronghold over their workers, and they succeeded in doing so for the longest time. After the
December 3, 2015
Labor & Leisure
Dr. Batch
Sidorick, Daniel. Condensed Capitalism: Campbell Soup and the Pursuit of Cheap Production in the Twentieth Century. Ithaca: ILR Press/Cornell University Press, 2009.
Daniel Sidorick chronicles the illustrious and controversial history of the Campbell’s Soup Company that was based in Camden, New Jersey for 122 years. Condensed Capitalism details the history of the factory, led by John T. Dorrence, the President of the company who ran it with an iron fist. Campbell’s was always for the pursuit of the cheapest production and labor possible under Dorrence. The Campbell’s soup factory definitely had its issues under Dorrence, as Sidorick uses in-depth primary sources to detail the factories’ …show more content…
With the time period being so anti-communist with the onset of the “Red Scare” and the Cold War, Campbell’s capitalized on that fear by denouncing unions, which gave the business much more leverage over their workers. Campbell’s appeared to be a wholesome, family-oriented business from an outsider’s perspective, but Sidorick’s book brings to light the ruthless management of Campbell’s by Dorrence and the management. Sidorick tends to focus on several key aspects of the Camden factory in his book. The fact that Dorrence and the Campbell’s management stayed in Camden for so long seemed to be one of Sidorick’s main themes, since that is such an unusual strategy for a company so intent on gaining the greatest amount of profit and most efficient production and labor strategies. Another thing to note about Sidorick and his book is that he is undoubtedly biased leaning more towards the workers, but he does an excellent job in …show more content…
Sidorick’s book is a great scholarly book that seems to mix labor history with gender, race, and union history. Campbell’s implemented many policies that segregated their workers by race and gender, in fact they didn’t even begin the practice of hiring African-Americans until decades into the 20th century, and they were treated poorly once they did. The onset of the Red Scare was utilized tremendously by the management of Campbell’s, feeding the hysteria that the American people already had. They created divides between their workers through their anti-union propaganda and their segregation policies. Sidorick does a great job explaining the different policies that Dorrence enacted to keep a tight leash on their workers. Campbell’s utilized the Cold War, they took advantage of the longstanding racism ideals that America had already had by mistreating their African American workers, and they stayed afloat during the Great Depression due to the support from the government. The government bailed them out during times of labor shortages by helping provide them with cheaper labor from African American workers, who were “lucky” to have the job. Campbell’s used everything in their arsenal to maintain a stronghold over their workers, and they succeeded in doing so for the longest time. After the