Roots of Steel: Boom and Bust in an American Steel Town

摘要

Roots of Steel is science writer Deborah Rudacille's paean to "the virtues of hard work, community, and family" (p. 5) in the Baltimore suburb of Dun-dalk, the working-class company steel town in which she grew up. Drawing on oral interviews, she recounts the history of labor and community at Bethlehem Steel's Sparrows Point plant. Established in 1887 by the Pennsylvania Steel Company, the Sparrows Point plant and town of the same name were bought by Bethlehem Steel in 1916 as part of a rapid expansion during World War I. As the wartime workforce increased, Bethlehem Steel decided to build a new company town. In contrast to Sparrows Point, where workers could only rent, Dundalkers were encouraged to purchase the new brick-and-stucco homes. $4,135 bought a very nice three-bedroom house. Although Sparrows Point was one of the most integrated plants in the nation, Dundalk itself was limited to whites.