A labour aristocracy : skilled labour in Amherst, Nova Scotia, 1891-1914.

Abstract

This thesis explores the meaning of the term "labour aristocracy" and its development in Britain and Canada. The limited use of the term in Canadian historiography is discussed and its validity in a Canadian context is questioned. The characteristics of a labour aristocracy, as defined by British historians, are applied to skilled workers in Amherst, Nova Scotia. These characteristics are level of pay, tendency toward defensive activity, marriage patterns, attitudes toward property, associational life, and adoption of a leadership role for the working class.

Within the boundaries of a single town, a group of skilled workers emerges who demonstrate many aristocratic tendencies. The identification of an upper strata of workers allows a useful approach to understanding some of the activities of the working class in Amherst.