University of Virginia
Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: Harry S. Truman: Domestic Affairs
A broad look at the Truman presidency domestically including the labor problems he encountered, his Fair Deal, the instransigence of the Republican Party, and McCarthyism.
Stanford University
Beyond the Bubble: Unions in Paterson, New Jersey
[Free Registration/Login Required] An excerpt from an interview with a textile factory worker named Marianna Costa. In the interview, Costa talks about working conditions at the Arrow Piece Dye Works in Paterson, New Jersey, prior to the...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: America's History in the Making: Industrializing America
Comprehensive teaching unit that explores the "second industrial revolution" and the mass production of consumer goods. This, in turn, caused an increase in the labor force and immigration. Learn how these changes brought about the start...
Other
New York University: Labor Arts
Numerous collections of cartoons, buttons, posters, murals, photographs, and similar artifacts, all pertaining to history of American labor, especially its drive to organize and its history of protest. Stretches back to the earliest days...
Harry S. Truman Library and Museum
Truman Library: Telegram: Injunction in the Copper Industry Strike
Beset by labor unrest and strikes after World War II, President Truman sent a telegram to the Attorney General advising him to step into the dispute between copper companies and labor unions to avert strikes and lock outs. Read the...
Other
Nysed: The Great Railroad Strike of 1877
This very complete lesson plan from the New York State Library uses newspaper accounts to give a "you are there" feeling to the discussion of the Railroad Strike of 1877. Included are a history of the strike, student activities,...
Cato Institute
Cato Institute: Global Competition Meets the New Deal
This article gives you information on what laws are, and facts about the global economy. Specifically, it discusses whether or not quality circles are illegal, and how global competition relates to the New Deal. (Date of Article: Feb....
Other
Ohio's Steel Mill War: The Little Steel Strike of 1937
A several page article about the labor unrest in the steel industries in 1937. Find out about what the union activists were fighting for, martial law that was declared in Ohio, and the final results of the strike.
CommonLit
Common Lit: Workers' Rights and the History of Labor Unions
CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...
Other
Kansas Heritage: Pullman Strike, Chicago, 1894
This detailed and informative site explains how the Pullman Strike, which began as a peaceful protest about rent in the company town of Pullman, spread across the country and brought railroad traffic to a halt.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: Immigration and Migration
[Free Registration/Login Required] A lengthy essay discussing the differing opinions about immigration and the role of immigrants in the United States in the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century. Find out about the...
The Newberry Library
Newberry Library: Chicago Workers During the Long Gilded Age
Learning module in which students use primary source material to examine the plight of workers in Chicago during the 19th and 20th Centuries, their efforts to make changes to working conditions and public response to those efforts.
PBS
Ipt: The Haywood Trial: Class Warfare in an Idaho Courtroom
A television documentary from Idaho Public Television that recreates the trial of Big Bill Haywood, leader of the Western Federation of Miners, charged with hiring a hit man to kill an Idaho ex-governor. Read about how he was captured,...
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: Mary Harris Jones
Female labor activist "Mother Jones" was a self-proclaimed "hell-raiser" in the cause of economic justice.
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
Student will use primary and secondary sources to gain a richer understanding of women's activism and how the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire led to changes in labor and safety regulations in America.
Digital History
Digital History: Haymarket Square Riot
A description of the Haymarket Square riot and its cause. Find quotes from the Chicago Tribune which called the protesters insurrectionists, and two Illinois governors who doubted the guilt of those rounded up, charged, and convicted of...
Curated OER
History Matters: I Will Kill Frick
Find information about the Homestead strike and the treatment of the workers inspired some labor activists to plot the murder of Henry Clay Frick. Part of the autobiography of Emma Goldman.
Hartford Web Publishing
World History Archives: Bread & Roses: The Strike Led and Won by Women
An article from Workers World describes the Bread and Roses Strike and explains why it ended up to be so effective. One interesting aspect is that there were immigrants working in the Lawrence textile mills speaking 25 different...
Hartford Web Publishing
World History Archives: Indispensable Ally: Black Workers, Formation of the Cio
This article relates the history of African Americans in the union movement during the Great Depression. Read about the importance of black membership in the CIO, the ILA, and the steel industry.
Curated OER
History Matters: Welfare Capitalism and Its Conceits.
Examine this political cartoon that looks at welfare capitalism and how companies used it to keep workers from establishing unions.
Curated OER
History Matters: Eight Hours for What We Will!
Passage of the Adamson Act in 1916 was a huge victory for labor unions pushing for an eight-hour day. Read about that victory and find an illustration celebrating that fact.
Digital History
Digital History: Samuel Gompers and the American Federation of Labor
A good look at not only Samuel Gompers and the formation of the American Federation of Labor, but also of the course of unionism in general, its successes and failures, its goals, and membership in the late 19th century.
Harvard University
Women Working: National Women's Trade Union League of America
An explanation of the formation of the National Women's Trade Union League of America that brought together working class women and professional women. Read about what their goals were for women in the workforce. Find links to primary...
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: The Rise of Industrial Unions
Article outlines the rise of industrial unions during the 1920s and 30s and the impact unions had on politics.