Curated OER
Development of Labor Unions
High schoolers examine the conditions that led to organized labor unions. In this 20th century America lesson, students compare and contrast the Knights of Labor Constitution, the American Federation of Labor Constitution, and the...
Curated OER
History Matters: "To This We Dissented": The Rock Springs Riot
Read the description of the Rock Springs massacre written by the Chinese workers who lived through the massacre and presented to the Chinese Consul in New York. Included is a report of an investigation of those who died in the massacre....
Curated OER
History Matters:"rock Springs Is Killed":white Reaction to the Rock Springs Riot
Read an article from the Rock Springs Independent railng against the return of the Chinese coal miners the day after the Rock Springs Massacre that resulted in the death of several Chinese laborers.
Curated OER
History Matters: Protestant Paranoia
Site contains text concerning the APA and the Secret Oath taken to belong to the Association and explains why the group was formed.
Curated OER
History Matters: "A Healthy Public Opinion"
Read Terence V. Powderly's reasoning for keeping the Knights of Labor, which he headed, out of the turmoil that came after the Haymarket Square Riot.
Curated OER
History Matters: Race and Racism at the 1886 Knights of Labor Convention
This interesting excerpt from Terence Powderly's autobiography discusses the problems he encountered as head of the Knights of Labor in terms of race relations in the unions.
University of Illinois
University of Illinois: The Chinese Experience in 19th Century America: The Rock Springs Massacre
This lesson plan is from a larger site examining the Chinese Experience in the United States in the 19th century. Discover the role the official support by the labor movement played in the discrimination, and in the case of the Rock...
US Department of Labor
U.s. Department of Labor: Labor in the Industrial Era
This interesting essay traces the growth of the Knights of Labor from a group that represented those in the shoe industry in Philadelphia to a nationwide union fighting for workers' rights. It also traces other union developments over...
Other
Illinois State Museum: The American Railway Union
Excerpt from U.S. Strike Commission Report. Site also provides focus questions at the bottom.
Harvard University
Harvard Univ. Library: The Tide of Immigration: The Alien Contract Labor Law
This chapter from a 1916 book by Frank Julian Warne, titled The Tide of Immigration, outlines how the so-called native workers' jobs should be protected from the influx of immigrants. Read about the law that made it illegal for...
OpenStax
Open Stax: Industrialization: Building Industrial America on the Backs of Labor
Learn about the lives of the working class in Industrial America, what led to the formation of labor unions, and why labor unions were not successful despite strike actions.
Other
Wyo History: The Rock Springs Massacre
Read this very detailed description of the Rock Springs Massacre and the circumstances that led up to it. Find out why Chinese immigrants became the focus of hatred and discrimination.
Curated OER
History Matters: Parsons Responds to Powderly
Read an excerpt from a letter written by Chicago radical and Haymarket defendant, Albert Parsons, to the "Chicago Times" concerning Terence V. Powderly and the Haymarket riot. Also links to other related sites.
Country Studies US
Country Studies: The Struggles of Labor
This site discusses how for much of the latter half of the 1800s, the life of the common laborer was horrendous. Working in a unsanitary factory, for at least 10 hours a day, making far less than needed to survive, the struggles of the...
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.
University of Maryland
University of Maryland: The Samuel Gompers Papers
Site from the University of Maryland provides primary source documents, a brief history of the labor movement, and biographical information about Samuel Gompers. A great resource for teachers and students.
Other
Encyclopedia of Arkansas: Great Southwestern Strike
Prior to the nationwide Pullman Railway Strike in 1894, railroad workers struck against rail lines controlled by Jay Gould. Read about the strike, the initial success, and eventual defeat for the workers.
PBS
Pbs: History Detectives: The Early Labor Movement
Brief summary of the early labor movement and the role that labor unions played.
Chicago History Museum
Encyclopedia of Chicago: Knights of Labor
Encyclopedia of Chicago has an interesting article about the rise of the Knights of Labor. Read about union's acceptance of all workers, its successes, and its legacy.
Ohio History Central
Ohio History Central: United Mine Workers of America
A look at the history of the United Mine Workers from its inception to present day. Find out what causes the UMW supported.
National Women's Hall of Fame
National Women's Hall of Fame: "Mother" Mary Harris Jones
The National Women's Hall of Fame recognizes the important and influential life work of the famous labor organizer and worker's rights activist "Mother" Jones.
Ohio History Central
Ohio History Central: Knights of Labor
Ohio History Central gives a brief summary of the actions and goals of the Knights of Labor in the last half of the 19th century. Find out about their push for improved working conditions and whether striking was advantageous or not in...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Early National Organizations
As early as 1866 a national union grew from the multitude of local unions in the country. Read about the growth of stronger unions, and find out what their goals were. See why the Haymarket Square Riot had an effect on unionization.
Library of Congress
Loc: Today in History: September 2: The Rock Springs Massacre
Scroll down through this American Memory's Today in History to the Rock Springs Massacre. Find a brief description of what happened to the Chinese mine workers on that day in Wyoming, and the aftermath. Included are links to photographs...