Library of Congress
Loc: American Memory: Alice Henry: The Trade Union Woman
Excerpt from the Preface to Alice Henry's book, The Trade Union Woman (1915) in which Henry argues for regulation of wages and working conditions for women. Link to the entire book.
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: Camella Teoli Testifies About the 1912 Lawrence Textile Strike
Read the gripping testimony of an immigrant girl who testified before a U.S. Congressional committee detailing the conditons in the textile mill in which she worked. Because of these unsafe working conditions, the textile workers...
Curated OER
History Matters: Ideas in Conflict: Opposing Views of the Cripple Creek Strike
The violent strike in Cripple Creek, Colorado, pitted the Western Federation of Miners against the mine owners. Read these statements by the two organizations giving their views of what happened in that conflict.
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.
Curated OER
History Matters: Joe Rudiak Remembers the 1919 Strike
Read an interview with a former steelworker, who recalls the Great Steel Strike of 1919 when he was a young boy. Find out the ramifications for his family because his father was a union man who supported the strike. An audio of the...
Hartford Web Publishing
World History Archives: Mexican Border Workers Fight for Unions
The story of Mexican workers and their attempt to unionize due to poor working conditions at a Hyundai plant in Tijuana. Fom a story by David Bacon in the San Francisco Bay Guardian on 06/11/1997.
![Hillsborough Community College: The Rise of Unions and Labor Activism [Pdf] Article](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Hillsborough Community College: The Rise of Unions and Labor Activism [Pdf] Article")
Other
Hillsborough Community College: The Rise of Unions and Labor Activism [Pdf]
Lengthy article on the Second Industrial Revolution in the United States. Looks at the growth of businesses into corporations with large workforces and manufacturing facilities, and the labor issues and organizations that arose as...
University of Pennsylvania
A Celebration of Women Writers: Civilization in Southern Mills
Stories of women and children working in Southern mills in the late 1800's. Poor wages and poor working conditions are commonplace throughout this recounting by Mother Jones in 1901.
Social Studies Help Center
Social Studies Help Center: American Government, Unionism Friend or Foe?
This site highlights the conflicting points of view within the government of labor unionizing. Focuses on pro and anti union legislation througout history and the attempt to balance workers rights with economic success.
US Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Compensation From Before Wwi Through Great Depression [Pdf]
This interesting article from the Bureau of Labor Statistics discusses how working conditions and low pay prior to World War I led to the increase in union membership. Read how the government viewed labor and labor unions during World...
University of Missouri
Famous Trials: Western Federation of Miners
A good review of the Western Federation of Miners and its actions in Colorado in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Find out why the organization was seen to have socialist leanings.
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: The Richest Man in the World: Meet Andrew Carnegie
PBS provides this five-part, thorough biography of one of the richest men in America, Andrew Carnegie.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: America in Class: Becoming Modern: America in the 1920s: Prosperity
Collection of six sections with primary resource material on the prosperity achieved during the 1920s explores consumerism, labor, and business. Includes notes, discussion questions and links to supplemental sources.
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
Earliest Voices William Taft
Hear historic voice recordings of Supreme Court Justice and President William Howard Taft on such issues as the gold standard, the right of labor, and the rise and progress of the American Negro. A biography and downloadable images...
Other
Haymarket Trial: August Spies, Address to the Court
Site presents the statement given by August Spies, who was convicted and hanged for his role in the Haymarket Square riot.
Other
I Boston: Boston Police Strike of 1919
The year 1919 was a year of strikes all across America. Read about the Boston police force's attempts to unionize in order to improve wages and working conditions. The disastrous results were attributed partly to ethnic prejudice, partly...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Houghton Mifflin Company: Teacher's Guide for Bread and Roses, Too
Katherine Paterson writes historical fiction for middle school aged learners. This book on the Bread and Roses strike includes good factual information about the strike woven into a personal story. This teacher's guide is a handy...
Other
Mass Moments: January 12, 1912: Bread and Roses Strike Begins
The Bread and Roses Strike was given a very slight chance of accomplishing anything for women who worked in poor conditions in the textile mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts. See how wrong the mill owners and even the leaders of the...
Texas State Historical Association
Texas State Historical Association: Labor Organizations
The history of the labor movement in Texas is examined, beginning during the Republic of Texas. The article discusses the different labor organizations that formed in various industries, and how these evolved over time. As immigration...
Other
Wpt: The Sit Down Strike of 1937
A lengthy look at the sit-down strike called against General Motors factories first in Flint, Michigan, and then across the country. Find out about how the UAW organized the strike, how long it lasted, and what the consequences were for...
Library of Congress
Loc: Today in History: August 20: 8 Hour Work Day
This Library of Congress site provides information on the fight for the eight-hour workday. Discusses labor unions and strikes.
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.