The long-standing view in US economic history is the shift in manufacturing in the nineteenth century from the artisan shop to the mechanized factory led to "labor deskilling." Craft workers were displaced by mix of semi-skilled operatives, unskilled workers, and a reduced force of mechanics to...

The long-standing view in US economic history is that the shift in manufacturing in the nineteenth century from the artisan shop to the mechanized factory led to “labor deskilling.” Craft workers were displaced by mix of semi-skilled operatives, unskilled workers, and a small force of...