The Making (and Unmaking) of a Militant Economist: Leo Wolman’s Reminiscences from the Columbia Oral History Collection Part I: From Johns Hopkins to the Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union of America

Abstract

This paper investigates what may be termed the “Wolman problem”: the striking discontinuity in Leo Wolman’s attitude toward and relationship with American unionism. Drawing on Wolman’s recorded reminiscences from 1957–1960, we present a documentary account that foregrounds his own narrative of his career as both an academic economist and a public servant. Our aim is not only to recover the voice of one of the most prominent yet underexamined industrial relations economists of the early twentieth century, but also to situate his reflections within the methodological challenges of oral history. While Wolman’s memoirs provide invaluable insight into his intellectual trajectory and evolving stance toward organized labor, they must be read critically. As with all retrospective accounts, issues of memory, bias, and the shaping influence of historical context complicate their reliability. In Wolman’s case, his hardened disillusionment with unions by the late 1950s colors his recollection of earlier commitments, particularly his association with the Amalgamated Clothing Workers and Sidney Hillman. By bringing these tensions to light, the paper both makes accessible key documentary material and interrogates the interpretive limits of oral testimony in the study of labor history.