Migrants to the Steel Cities: Immigration and Labor in U.S Steel Towns, 1890-1940

The steel industry in the United States developed and matured during the late 1800s and early 1900s, providing the basis for American industrial leadership in the world and requiring many workers to undertake the hot and dangerous work in the mills and smelters. At the same time, increased flows of immigration, both from Europe and internally from the southern U.S were bringing many new people to the north. Black workers and foreign workers both entered the steel towns, and both were seen initially as outsiders and not true Americans. This project seeks to look at the inflow of migrant and black steelworkers, as recorded by the U.S Census Bureau from 1900-1940, and use this data as a guide to explore the different ways that European immigrants and black workers were able to adapt to these circumstances. The project will show how European immigrants were able to participate in union activity despite early opposition, while black workers were shunned by unions. It will also show how European workers were able to adapt themselves to be included in an expanded definition of American “whiteness”, while pre-existing anti-blackness kept black workers on the margins, despite the vital role they played in making steel.