The Great Lobster War (Notable Trials)

In 1956 the Maine Lobsterman's Association was created to break the stranglehold placed on the group by fish dealers, who the fishermen accused of price fixing. Nearly 4,000 fishermen refused to fish in retaliation for dealers' price reductions of their catch, and these disgruntled seamen tried to persuade the rest of their lobstering brothers and sisters to do the same. Before the strike could make a real impact, the dealers complained to the Justice Department, claiming that the association's striking fishermen were harassing those who chose to continue working. Thus summoned, the Department went on to charge both parties with antitrust violations, instigating a circus-like investigation and trial. Given a cast of rugged fisherman, slippery dealers, and ardent yet misguided federal prosecutors, University of Florida history professor Ron Formisano recreates the trial and its various repercussions from the beginning of the conflict to its unexpected and ultimately inconsequential end. Remarkably thorough, The Great Lobster War reveals much about the character of the fishermen as well as the people of Maine, playing up the confrontation that pitted underdog lobstermen against dealers backed by the power of a market economy.