+
Activity
Other

Illinois State Museum: The American Railway Union

For Students 9th - 10th
Excerpt from U.S. Strike Commission Report. Site also provides focus questions at the bottom.
+
Article
PBS

Pbs News Hour: The Origins of Labor Day

For Students 9th - 10th
An article about the origin of Labor Day.
+
Website
Other

Sindicato Unificado De Policia: Homepage

For Students 9th - 10th
Official site of a police trade union.
+
Lesson Plan
British Library

British Library: Dickens's Hard Times: Industrialisation

For Teachers 9th - 10th
For this activity, students will examine the working lives of those who produced goods in factories, towns, and cities and investigate the social and economic backdrop to Charles Dickens's novel "Hard Times".
+
Lesson Plan
Ohio State University

Osu History Teaching Institute: The Industrial Revolution

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Explores the development of the textile industry in Great Britain, focusing on the invention of various machines. Also,discusses the social effects of the Industrial Revolution and the connections between the Industrial Revolution and...
+
Primary
Curated OER

History Matters: Parsons Responds to Powderly

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
+
Website
Digital History

Digital History: National Recovery Administration

For Students 9th - 10th
Resource provides an overview of the codes set by the National Recovery Administration that helped industry and labor in the 1930s and their positive and negative affects.
+
Website
Digital History

Digital History: Labor Protests

For Students 9th - 10th
A sure sign that manufacturing was moving from the home to the factory was the organization of skilled workers to protest wage reductions and working conditions. Read about the tension between these skilled workers and their employers as...
+
Handout
University of Houston

University of Houston: Engines of Our Ingenuity: American Industrial Revolution

For Students 6th - 8th
Aimed at middle school teachers and students, this resource contains lists of labor links. It includes a brief history of strikes, the Knights of Labor and the AFL.
+
Primary
Vassar College

Vassar College: 1896: The Homestead and Pullman Strikes

For Students 9th - 10th
1896, A Website of Political Cartoons and Commentary provides the illustrated story of both the Homestead and Pullman strikes with quotes from newspapers of the time and a brief characterization of Andrew Carnegie. The site includes a...
+
Graphic
New York University

San Reiss: An Eyewitness to Labor History 1948 1975

For Students 9th - 10th
Considered the "Labor photographer," this online exhibit of Sam Reiss' work is a pictorial history of American labor from 1948-1975.
+
Website
University of Maryland

University of Maryland: The Samuel Gompers Papers

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
+
Primary
US National Archives

Our Documents: National Labor Relations Act (1935)

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the original document that established the National Labor Relations Board written in 1935. Also known as the Wagner Act, its intention was to give employees the right to form unions and to engage in collective bargaining.
+
Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: America at the Turn of the Century

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
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."
+
Website
Other

Afl Cio: Eugene Victor Debs (1855 1926)

For Students 9th - 10th
Debs began his association with labor issues at an early age starting with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen. He went on to be active in the American Railway Union, the Socialist Party of America, and the Industrial Workers of the...
+
Handout
Towson University

Towson University: Eaach: Colored Farmers Alliance

For Students 9th - 10th
An encyclopedia entry for the Colored Farmers' Alliance, founded in Texas in 1886. Discusses the history of this alliance in depth.
+
Website
Ministry of Education and Employment of Spain

Si Spain: General Union of Workers

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides a short description of the Union General de Trabajadores in English.
+
Website
Other

Si Spain: Union Confederation of Workers Commissions

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides a short description of the Comisiones Obreras in English.
+
Primary
Other

Ussc the Pullman Strike: Its Causes and Events

For Students 9th - 10th
An excerpt from U.S. Strike Commission Report on the Pullman Strike. Site presents questions at the end for study.
+
Handout
Chicago History Museum

Encyclopedia of Chicago: Haymarket and May Day

For Students 9th - 10th
Read this historical account of the events that led to the infamous labor dispute known as the Haymarket Square Riots on May 4th of 1886.