A Short Q&A with the Reconsidering Southern Labor History: Race, Class, and Power Contributors
Today’s interview is with Adam Carson, a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Tell us about your essay, “Beyond Boosterism: Fort Smith and the Creation of a Conservative Economic Culture.”
In the 1950s, leading figures in Fort Smith, AR, worked to remake the city’s civic culture to be more business-friendly by controlling the media and sponsoring public events that promoted economically conservative policies to attract industry. Workers and unions were unable to create a competing narrative, so the city became one of the first in the state to begin voting for Republicans who espoused a pro-business rhetoric and ideology like that proffered by town fathers. These men did not coerce workers into accepting this culture but created an environment that constrained alternative choices.
What sparked your interest in labor history?
I worked at a factory in Fort Smith over several summers when I was an undergraduate to pay for tuition and other expenses while the permanent workers were on vacation. Because of this experience, I enrolled in a seminar on modern conservatism taught by a labor historian in my first semester as a graduate student. I decided then that I wanted to add my voice on the subject to the historical conversation.
Why is labor history important today?
Because the mainstream narrative of American history centers on powerful individuals who strive, succeed, and shape the world around them. Labor history offers a different story of group action, community, and perseverance in the face of formidable obstacles. Right now, I cannot think of anything more necessary than to present this forgotten side of history.
What are you working on now?
I am finishing my dissertation on the emergence of the Republican Party in Alabama. It focuses on the conservative economic undercurrents that helped fuel the state’s political realignment between the 1940s and the 1990s.