A New Liberal Descent: The 'Labourer' Trilogy by Lawrence and Barbara Hammond

In 1906, citing the complexities of what he would subsequentlyterm the ‘Great Society’, the New Liberal GrahamWallas called for ‘a fresh approach to the question: What,under modern conditions constitutes history?’ A burgeoninggroup of historians, including among others R. H. Tawney, theWebbs, J. H. Clapham and W. J. Ashley, responded to this needby establishing economic and social history as a legitimatefield or historical study. However, beginning with The VillageLabourer in 1911 followed by The Town Labourer in 1917 and TheSkilled Labourer in 1919, Barbara and Lawrence Hammond completeda historical enquiry that more than any other of its time definedfor progressives an answer to Wallas' query. This article examinesthe Hammonds' unique achievement in terms of its contributionto New Liberal politics and to the growing field of economicand social history. It sets their overtly political and literaryapproach against the growing trend towards professionalizationamongst contemporary historians and compares their radical treatmentof industrialization to the orthodox Liberal conclusions ofnineteenth century Whig historians. The groundwork is thus laidfor an exploration into the implicit assumptions that definedthe shape and character of the Hammonds' New Liberal descent;an exploration that enhances our understanding of both Englishprogressivism and the development of social history as a legitimateapproach to studying the past.