Integrated laborers but marginal figures: the untold story of early Syrian-American factory workers

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the wake of the September 2001 terrorist attacks, the historyof Arab American immigration resurfaced as a topic of academicinterest when a new generation of scholars set out to reconsiderthe narratives that had dominated the literature. More specifically,academic attention turned to the mythology surrounding therapid assimilation of the pioneer generation. Early historiansclaimed that pack-peddling as a profession had greatly facilitatedthe process of Americanization. Moreover, it was alleged thattraditional and inherited values such as individualism or respectfor entrepreneurship had played a major role in the successfulintegration of Arab immigrants. Today’s new scholarship contendsthat the history of immigrant industrial workers ought to berecognized as a valuable alternative to the traditional narrative.However, few scholars have actually investigated the topic furtherand analyzed primary source material documenting the factory workers’ activism and contributions to a collective history andmemory. The present article seeks to fill this gap in the literatureby offering a closer look into grassroots working-class militancyat the beginning of the 20th century. It relies on a case study thatanalyzes the role played by Syrian industrial workers during the1912 Bread and Roses strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts.