| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 112.4

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to the AHR online. About 225 words from this article are provided below; about 638 words remain.

If you are a individual member of the American Historical Association, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time. AHA members can go to the AHA individual membership section to locate their member numbers.
If you are not a member of the American Historical Association, you can:: • Join the AHA and receive many member benefits including print and electronic issues of the American Historical Review.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the American Historical Review (104.3-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the American Historical Review.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 112.4 | The History Cooperative

Andrew E. Kersten. Labor's Home Front: The American Federation of Labor during World War II. Edited by Harvey J. Kaye. New York: New York University Press. 2006. Pp. xiii, 274. $42.00.
During the years of their supposedly intense rivalry, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) consistently boasted at least twice the membership of its competitor, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). Yet the historiography—perhaps reflecting the militant sympathies of labor historians—has been decidedly lopsided in favor of treatments of the CIO. If Andrew E. Kersten's insightful study of the AFL during World War II is an indication, we are seeing at last a correction to this unfortunate imbalance.	1
The war, Kersten argues, brought fundamental change to the stodgy, conservative federation previously wedded to volunteerism, pure and simple unionism, and exclusivity. Working alongside the Roosevelt administration, the AFL mobilized and motivated millions of essential defense sector workers. Demanding "equality of sacrifice," federation leaders challenged lingering conservative elements in government, industry, and labor. By the end of the war, the labor organization had transformed into a vital component of the New Deal coalition. This transformation is perhaps most manifest in the federation's promotion of an "American 'Beveridge Plan'" prescribing full-employment, expanded social security, and massive housing and public works projects for the postwar years.	. . .

There are about 638 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.