Curated OER
The Ethics of Outsourcing to China
After viewing clips from a documentary on factory work in China and US outsourcing, learners have a fishbowl discussion. They work in groups to build both personal points of view and strong arguments on the effects of outsourcing in...
University of Missouri
Famous Trials: The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Trial, 1911
Site opens with a terrible picture of victims of the fire that draws the reader into the incredible story of this tragedy. A very comprehensive site with newspaper articles, trial testimony, maps of the building, and photographs.
Chicago History Museum
Chicago Historical Society: The Dramas of Haymarket
The Chicago Historical Society presents extensive information about the 1886 bombing at Haymarket Square that helped change the course of the labor movement. Read about the bombing, arrests, trial, executions, and other events that...
Library of Congress
Loc: Teachers: America at the Centennial
A lesson plan requiring student to analyze primary documents from the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876. Students interpret what these historical artifacts say "about the lives and values of Americans in 1876" among other things.
Library of Congress
Loc: America at the Turn of the Century
A short report on America by 1900: "..the American nation had established itself as a world power. The West was Won. The frontier -- the great fact of 300 years of American history -- was no more."
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Celebrating Labor Day
[Free Registration/Login Required] A high school lesson plan using two primary source quotes to determine if working conditions have improved in the last 100 years.
Other
A Virtual Tour of Victorian England
A visit to a Victorian Family where they "Will show you how a middle-class Victorian family lives."
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: The Very First Labor Day
You have a day off of school the first Monday in September to honor the workers of America. A history of our Labor Day celebration is provided by this Library of Congress timeline.
Britain Express
Britain Express: History: The Victorian Age: Chartism
A history of the Chartist Movement in England from its origins in 1838 with the "People's Charter," to its demise in 1848.
Library of Congress
Loc: Learning Page: Labor in America
A rich collection of resources, including primary sources, student activities, and lesson plans, to support study of Americans at work in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
NPR: National Public Radio
Npr: Weekend All Things Considered: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
A short piece on the death of the last living survivor of the fire, Rose Freedman. She died at the age of 107. You can hear a recorded talk between a reporter and Freedman's granddaughter.
Other
History Buff: Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
For as short as this synopsis is, it does give a good overview of the story of the fire and the aftermath. Provides text on resulting labor laws.