The writing of history is defined by questions asked by the historian. Again and again historians return to the query of “why no labor party?” or “why no socialism in the United States?” on the premise that the absence of a labor party deviated from the norm, at least observed from a European perspective. For many historians this political development, or should I say, non-development, was indicative of “American exceptionalism,” part and parcel of the nation's unique political, economic, social, and cultural trajectory.