History Celebrates Authors’ Publications

Three authors from the History Department display their latest works. From left, Michael Pierson, Chad Montrie and Christophe Strobel.

In the space of a year, three UMass Lowell history professors have published books, demonstrating the significant abilities and achievements of the department.  Department Chair Joseph Lipchitz describes them as “the latest achievements of three excellent scholars who have multiple books to their credit.”

The authors and their books are Asst. Prof. Chad Montrie and “Making a Living,” Assoc. Prof. Michael Pierson and “Mutiny at Fort Jackson,” and Asst. Prof. Christophe Strobel and “The Testing Grounds of Modern Empire.”

Montrie’s book examines work as a central part of Americans’ evolving relationship with nature, highlighting connections between workers' rights and the rise of environmentalism. By analyzing six case studies – textile mill girls, plantation slaves and freed sharecroppers, homesteading women in the Nebraska grasslands, Appalachian coal miners, Detroit auto workers, and California farm workers – Montrie shows how organized and mechanized production drove a wedge between workers and nature. He also describes how workers’ resistance not only addressed wages and work conditions, but also began the early groundswell of environmental activism.

Pierson’s latest book tells the story of a group of Confederate soldiers in Fort Jackson, New Orleans who rose up against their officers. Soldiers used the fort’s heavy guns on their commanders, resulting in the surrender of the fort to Unionists.  The Fort Jackson mutiny marked a critical turning point in the Union’s campaign to regain control of New Orleans, the Confederacy’s largest city and a vital industrial and financial center.

Pierson’s account uses newly uncovered archival sources to determine why the soldiers rebelled, and finds that the mutiny was a political act designed to help the Union cause.  Part of the book provides a fresh look at Benjamin Butler, a successful Lowell trial attorney who went on to serve as commander of the occupation forces in New Orleans in 1862.  Butler is reported to have seized the posh St. Charles Hotel for his headquarters, and to have confiscated $800,000 from the Dutch consulate.   While Butler was called “Beast” by some because of his treatment of locals, Pierson says many “rejoiced in his arrival, welcoming his policies and enjoyed dancing, drinking and living with the soldiers.”

Strobel’s most recent book examines the creation of colonial “racial order” on the American and South African frontiers. Strobel’s studies compare efforts by white people to undermine Native American and African sovereignty. The book focuses on the Ohio Country (including parts of present day Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan) and the African Eastern Cape on the southeastern tip of the continent.  He cites comparable patterns by white people in later years, as the United States expanded westward and Britain moved into southern and eastern Africa.  In these areas, white settlers, government officials and other white interest groups implemented systems of colonial racial order.  The resulting transformations contributed to a legacy of violence, conflict and cooperation, and altered the representation of race around the world.

For information on purchasing these books, contact Chad_Montrie@uml.edu, Michael_Pierson@uml.edu, or  Christophe_Strobel@uml.edu.