Seeger sings songs of struggle which emerged from the coal mines, textile mills and acres of farmland, and spoke of issues important to the American laborer.

There are twenty-four songs, written about the unprecedented industrialization of the 19th century, including "Peg and Awl", "The Farmer is the Man", and "Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues".

Irwin Silber's notes provide a history of labor folk song and its role in American popular music.

[2] Writing for Allmusic William Ruhlman wrote "Seeger presents the songs straightforwardly with only occasional flourishes, intent on getting the meanings across."

He continued, "Taken together, they chronicle a century and a half of the efforts of farmers, textile workers, and miners, primarily, to get what they deserve from increasingly rich and powerful captains of industry.