Developed with the assistance of the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for Humanities, this online multi-media digital exhibit examines one of the most celebrated strikes in American history, the Flint Sit-Down Strike of 1936-1937. The idea for the project had its origins in 1978, when Neil Leighton (a political science professor at the University of Michigan-Flint) was at a professional conference and another scholar recommended that he begin to create an oral history of that historic event in American labor history. The fine interactive facets included here include an engaging audio timeline, a detailed map of the strike-related activities (such as the various locations of the General Motors plants accompanied with brief descriptions of when workers began to strike at each location), and a slideshow. Each section on the strike itself contains a brief essay about such topics as the preexisting conditions in the plants, the organization of the various strikes, and the aftermath of the events that took place during those two years. The audio reminisces are quite dramatic, and address such topics as the union demands, the nature of the piecework system in the plants, and the unequal wage system. Overall, this online exhibit is a thorough introduction to one of the most important events in the history of the American labor movement.
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