Changes

When in 1918 the US government reversed its draft exemption for married workers and required all men to work in essential occupations or serve in the military, professional baseball players either enlisted or joined industrial baseball leagues. Company leagues included those of Bethlehem Steel, which had recreational leagues on both coasts that by 1918 represented a major-league level of competition. Sparrows Point, Maryland, a Bethlehem Steel company town, had a Steel League team, whose results Baltimore baseball fans followed closely. At the same time, fans also followed the draft status and 1918 season of Baltimore native [[Babe Ruth]], then playing with the Boston Red Sox and considering his own options, including joining an industrial league team. In September Bethlehem Steel, fearing competition with other leagues over professional talent, disbanded the Steel League. When the war ended in November, players such as Ruth were free to re-sign with their major league teams.<ref> Peter T. Dalleo, and J. Vincent Watchorn, III, "Baltimore, the 'Babe,' and the Bethlehem Steel League, 1918," ''Maryland Historical Magazine'' 1998 93(1): 88-106, </ref>

When in 1918 the US government reversed its draft exemption for married workers and required all men to work in essential occupations or serve in the military, professional baseball players either enlisted or joined industrial baseball leagues. Company leagues included those of Bethlehem Steel, which had recreational leagues on both coasts that by 1918 represented a major-league level of competition. Sparrows Point, Maryland, a Bethlehem Steel company town, had a Steel League team, whose results Baltimore baseball fans followed closely. At the same time, fans also followed the draft status and 1918 season of Baltimore native [[Babe Ruth]], then playing with the Boston Red Sox and considering his own options, including joining an industrial league team. In September Bethlehem Steel, fearing competition with other leagues over professional talent, disbanded the Steel League. When the war ended in November, players such as Ruth were free to re-sign with their major league teams.<ref> Peter T. Dalleo, and J. Vincent Watchorn, III, "Baltimore, the 'Babe,' and the Bethlehem Steel League, 1918," ''Maryland Historical Magazine'' 1998 93(1): 88-106, </ref>

===Depression and War: 1929-1950===

===Depression and War: 1929-1950===

War mobilization brought federal pressure to unionize the work force, and by 1941 the leftist [[CIO]] had organized most of Baltimore's major industries. The biggest operations were Bethlehem Steel's Fairfield Yard, on the southeastern edge of the harbor, which built Liberty ships; its work force peaked at 46,700 in late 1943.  Even larger was Glenn Martin, an aircraft plant located 10 miles northeast of downtown. By mid-decade, labor unions and ethnics had taken over local politics and liberal mayors enjoyed black as well as white support.<ref> The machine was led by Italian Catholic politicians such as  [[Nancy Pelosi]]'s father, Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr., who was mayor in 1947-59;  her brother, Thomas D'Alesandro III, was mayor from 1967 to 1971. She moved to San Francisco in the late 1960s.<ref>

Baltimore was a major war production center in World War II. The biggest operations were Bethlehem Steel's Fairfield Yard, on the southeastern edge of the harbor, which built Liberty ships; its work force peaked at 46,700 in late 1943.  Even larger was Glenn Martin, an aircraft plant located 10 miles northeast of downtown. By late 1943 about 150,000 to 200,000 migrant war workers had arrived. They were predominantly southerners; most came from Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Tennessee. War mobilization brought federal pressure to unionize the work force, and by 1941 the leftist [[CIO]] had organized most of Baltimore's large industries, while the more conservative [[AFL]] also gained many new members.  By 1945, labor unions and ethnics had taken over local politics and liberal mayors enjoyed black as well as white support. The machine was led by Italian Catholic politicians such as  [[Nancy Pelosi]]'s father, Thomas D'Alesandro, Jr., who was mayor in 1947-59;  her brother, Thomas D'Alesandro III, was mayor from 1967 to 1971.<ref> Pelosi married and moved to San Francisco in the late 1960s.</ref>

===Urban Crisis: 1950-1990===

===Urban Crisis: 1950-1990===

In the 1950s and 1960s, white Southern racial politics moved north into Baltimore and other cities. White Southerners came to Baltimore by the thousands during World War II, permanently altering the city's political landscape. Southern whites built on existing racial restrictions in Maryland to approximate the customary lines of demarcation further south. Working whites mobilized to prevent school integration after the 'Brown' decision of 1954. They believed that their interests were being sacrificed to those of black Americans. As working-class whites began to feel increasingly embattled in the face of federal intervention into local practices, many turned to the 1964 presidential primary campaign of [[George Wallace]] who swept the white working class vote. Durr  (2003) explains the defection of white working-class voters in Baltimore to the Republican Party as being caused by their fears that the Democratic Party's desegregation policies posed a threat to their families, workplaces, and neighborhoods.<ref>Kenneth  Durr,  "When Southern Politics Came North: the Roots of White Working-class Conservatism in Baltimore, 1940-1964," ''Labor History'' 1996 37(3): 309-331; Durr, ''Behind the Backlash: White Working-Class Politics in Baltimore, 1940-1980''  (2003) </ref>   

In the 1950s and 1960s, white Southern racial politics moved north into Baltimore and other cities. White Southerners came to Baltimore by the thousands during World War II, permanently altering the city's political landscape. Southern whites built on existing racial restrictions in Maryland to approximate the customary lines of demarcation further south. Working whites mobilized to prevent school integration after the 'Brown' decision of 1954. They believed that their interests were being sacrificed to those of black Americans. As working-class whites began to feel increasingly embattled in the face of federal intervention into local practices, many turned to the 1964 presidential primary campaign of [[George Wallace]] who swept the white working class vote. Durr  (2003) explains the defection of white working-class voters in Baltimore to the Republican Party as being caused by their fears that the Democratic Party's desegregation policies posed a threat to their families, workplaces, and neighborhoods.<ref>Kenneth  Durr,  "When Southern Politics Came North: the Roots of White Working-class Conservatism in Baltimore, 1940-1964," ''Labor History'' 1996 37(3): 309-331; Durr, ''Behind the Backlash: White Working-Class Politics in Baltimore, 1940-1980''  (2003) </ref>