SKU: 28786999104

Building a Social Contract: Modern Workers' Houses in Early-Twentieth Century Detroit

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Building a Social Contract: Modern Workers' Houses in Early-Twentieth Century DetroitThe dream of the modern worker's house emerged in early twentieth century America as wage earners gained access to new, larger, and better equipped dwellings. Building a Social Contract is a cogent history of the houses those workers dreamed of and labored for. Michael McCulloch chronicles the efforts of employers, government agencies, and the building industry who, along with workers themselves, produced an unprecedented boom in housing construction

The dream of the modern worker's house emerged in early twentieth-century America as wage earners gained access to new, larger, and better-equipped dwellings. Building a Social Contract is a cogent history of the houses those workers dreamed of and labored for. Michael McCulloch chronicles the efforts of employers, government agencies, and the building industry who, along with workers themselves, produced an unprecedented boom in housing construction that peaked in the mid-1920s.

Through oral histories, letters, photographs, and period fiction, McCulloch traces wage earners' agency in negotiating a new implicit social contract, one that rewarded hard work with upward mobility in modern houses. This promise reflected workers' increased bargaining power but, at the same time, left them increasingly vulnerable to layoffs.

Building a Social Contract focuses on Detroit, the quintessential city of the era, where migrant workers came and were Americanized, and real estate agents and the speculative housebuilding industry thrived. The Motor City epitomized the struggle of Black workers in this period, who sought better lives through industrial labor but struggled to translate their wages into housing security amid racist segregation and violence. When Depression-era unemployment created an eviction crisis, the social contract unraveled, and workers rose up--at the polls and in the streets--to create a labor movement that reshaped American capitalism for decades.

Today, the lessons McCulloch provides from early twentieth-century Detroit are a necessary reminder that wages are not enough, and only working-class political power can secure affordable housing.

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SKU: 28786999104

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4.3 ★★★★★
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Verified Purchase
HCLMSL
Draper, US
★★★★★ 4
Being true to yourself…
Format: Kindle
Fated mates is the only instalove that really makes sense to me. And this book has fated mates and awesome bonding with high emotions and feelings but didn’t go the way of instalove and I am here for it!! It was lovely to read about characters from A Pack of Her Own and to have that world grow and change. Very excited for the next book! I loved V and we got much more of Heather. They instantly connect and through that bond they each find the strength to be true to themselves and find what they what (and who) they need/want. Highly recommend this author and these books if you like fated mates and sapphic shifter romance!
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Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2024
M
Verified Purchase
M.Luria
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 5
love shifters
Format: Kindle
Great series with shifters living with and overcoming traumatic experiences with love, community, compassion, kindness and respect. A great series for these times.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2025
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Laura Straub
Waukegan, US
★★★★★ 3
Heather's story
Format: Paperback
3 stars - This is the second book in the Elena Abbott Shifters series. In Book Two, we get to know Heather McKenna. She was cursed by a witch, paid by her mother, so she couldn’t shift. Heather was told her whole life that being a shifter was abnormal and made her a monster. She was made to feel ashamed and unworthy. She didn’t find acceptance with her human family or with other wolf shifters when she finally left to forge her own path in the world. Her pack put her at the very bottom of the hierarchy and treated her poorly because what good is a wolf shifter who can’t shift? When this book starts, we learn that Wren, her new Alpha, has helped her release her wolf from the curse. Heather is having a difficult time accepting herself and finding peace with her wolf. She receives a call from her sister informing her that their mother is in the hospital and she needs to come. Their parting wasn’t on good terms. Heather hopes to find closure with her mom and sister and decides to go, despite Wren’s objections. V is a member of the Raines pack and also the child of the pack Alpha. Just like in the first book, we discover that this pack is governed by a strict hierarchy of dominance and submission. The Alpha’s word is law. V and their father do not see eye to eye. V’s non-binary identity and attraction to women are not respected by their father, who insists that they mate with Sinclair, the pack enforcer. As one might expect, Sinclair is terrible, and V wants nothing to do with him. V and Heather meet when V is called to the hospital to handle a potential rogue wolf, who turns out to be Heather. She is struggling to control her emotions and her wolf during the full moon. V immediately recognizes that Heather is their true fated mate. However, it takes Heather, who is not as in tune with her alter ego, a bit longer to come around. I enjoyed the story, but I must admit that it dragged a bit for me because Heather’s self-esteem is extremely low. She believes she is unworthy of anyone’s love or respect. She thinks she is broken and burdensome. She takes responsibility for and apologizes for everything, most of which she is not responsible for. One of my least favorite tropes is one-sided decision-making, like when a character decides, “I am not worth all the trouble I am causing. They can do better than me. I am doing them a favor by leaving.” Then they leave without giving the other person in the relationship a chance to make any decisions for themselves. Heather’s negative self-talk persists for at least half the book. I found myself skimming through these internal monologues because my tolerance for them is low. The book picks up in the second half, and I enjoyed the action scenes and the ending. I love how Wren’s new pack is starting to fill up with like-minded wolves, and I look forward to the next installment in the series. Thank you Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC and the opportunity to leave a review.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2023
M
Verified Purchase
MellowMan
Chelsea, US
★★★★★ 5
Thanks Elena Great Sequel
Format: Kindle
Elena, you did a marvelous job with your writing and character development. It is obvious you put your heart and soul into the story. I look forward to reading more of your work. Please keep it going strong.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2023
N
Notsonewtothis
Bozeman, US
★★★★★ 5
Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance
Format: Paperback
Really good second book in this series. This is the story about Heather whose a werewolf shifter who couldn't shift, but gets help from a witch and an alpha werewolf that brings out her wolf , but she goes rogue after shifting and runs. When Heather and V meet they know that they are each others mate, but there's problems from the beginning. There's a lot of violence, drama and angst in this story, so I would say buckle up for a wild ride.. I would definitely recommend this book and I look forward to what's next in this series from this author.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2023

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