Description:

This book evaluates the response of Blackburn's workers to the Cotton Famine and the American Civil War of 1861-65. The book reveals the popular attitudes of ordinary folk during a time when they were reduced to the most painful levels of destitution. Set in the historical context of working-class violence, the author explores whether the cotton-starved operatives of Lancashire's largest weaving town remained peacefully stoic or whether their distress resulted in a campaign of violence.