On the Waves of Empire

William D. Riddell

ISBN 10: 0252045165 / ISBN 13: 9780252045165

Published by University of Illinois Press, US, 2023

About this Item

In the aftermath of the Spanish-American War, the United States' acquisition of an overseas empire compelled the nation to reconsider the boundary between domestic and foreign--and between nation and empire. William D. Riddell looks at the experiences of merchant sailors and labor organizations to illuminate how domestic class conflict influenced America's emerging imperial system. Maritime workers crossed ever-shifting boundaries that forced them to reckon with the collision of different labor systems and markets. Formed into labor organizations like the Sailor's Union of the Pacific and the International Seaman's Union of America, they contested the U.S.'s relationship to its empire while capitalists in the shipping industry sought to impose their own ideas. Sophisticated and innovative, On the Waves of Empire reveals how maritime labor and shipping capital stitched together, tore apart, and re-stitched the seams of empire.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780252045165

Bibliographic Details

• Title: On the Waves of Empire
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press, US
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0252045165
• ISBN 13: 9780252045165
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Dimensions: 15.24W x 2.54H x 22.86D centimeters 15.24 centimeters width by 2.54 centimeters height by 22.86 centimeters depth
• Weight: 454 grams

About this title

Synopsis

In the aftermath of the Spanish-American War, the United States’ acquisition of an overseas empire compelled the nation to reconsider the boundary between domestic and foreign--and between nation and empire. William D. Riddell looks at the experiences of merchant sailors and labor organizations to illuminate how domestic class conflict influenced America’s emerging imperial system. Maritime workers crossed ever-shifting boundaries that forced them to reckon with the collision of different labor systems and markets. Formed into labor organizations like the Sailor’s Union of the Pacific and the International Seaman’s Union of America, they contested the U.S.’s relationship to its empire while capitalists in the shipping industry sought to impose their own ideas.

Sophisticated and innovative, On the Waves of Empire reveals how maritime labor and shipping capital stitched together, tore apart, and re-stitched the seams of empire.

About the Author

William D. Riddell is an assistant professor of history at the University of Toronto.