John Andrews Fitch (1881–1959) was an American writer, teacher, and pioneering social investigator of the

Progressive Era The Progressive Era (1890s–1920s) was a period in the United States characterized by multiple social and political reform efforts. Reformers during this era, known as progressivism in the United States, Progressives, sought to address iss ...

. He is best known for his contributions to

The Pittsburgh Survey ''The Pittsburgh Survey'' (1907–1908) was a pioneering sociological study of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States funded by the Russell Sage Foundation of New York City. It is widely considered a landmark of the Progressive Era re ...

, a landmark study of social conditions in an archetypal U.S. industrial city. Born in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

, he was a 1904 graduate of

Yankton College Yankton College was a private liberal arts college in Yankton, South Dakota, United States, affiliated with the Congregational Christian Churches (later the United Church of Christ). Yankton College produced nine Rhodes Scholars, more than any ...

. He taught at

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

's Weeping Water Academy before enrolling at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

for graduate studies in

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

. In the fall of 1907 he joined with his professor,

John R. Commons John Rogers Commons (October 13, 1862 – May 11, 1945) was an American institutional economist, Georgist, progressive and labor historian at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Early years John R. Commons was born in Hollansburg, Ohio o ...

, on a trip to

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

to begin work with dozens of other progressives on an ambitious sociological study:

Paul Kellogg Paul Kellogg may refer to: * Paul U. Kellogg (1879–1958), American journalist and social reformer * Paul Axtell Kellogg (1910–1999), Episcopal bishop {{hndis, Kellogg, Paul ...

's Pittsburgh Survey, funded by the

Russell Sage Foundation The Russell Sage Foundation is an American non-profit organisation established by Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, Margaret Olivia Sage in 1907 for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” It was named after her re ...

. Fitch spent more than a year interviewing steel workers. The resulting book, ''The Steel Workers'', was published in 1910, one of the Survey's six published volumes. It remains a classic depiction of a key industry in early twentieth-century America. Fitch, after a brief stint working for the New York Department of Labor, was an editor and writer for Paul Kellogg's ''Survey'', America's leading social work journal. Beginning in 1917 Fitch taught labor relations as a professor at the New York School of Social Work, where he retired in 1946.

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitch, John A. 1881 births 1959 deaths University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni 20th-century American economists Labor historians Progressive Era in the United States