Today, most Americans view Labor Day as the last chance to take a dip in the pool, a great excuse to barbecue with friends or a farewell to summer. But in 1894, when Labor Day was declared a legal holiday, the day was a celebration of...

In the United States and Canada, the first Monday of September is a federal holiday, Labor Day. Originally celebrated in New York City's Union Square in 1882, Labor Day was organized by unions as a rare day of rest for the overworked...

This is a collection of puzzles and activities using a bank of 18 words on the theme of Labor Day. It also provides a Vocabulary Word List for Vocational and Technical Education (362).

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.

If you asked students what comes to mind first when they think of Labor Day, what do you think they would say? The last days of summer? A family picnic? Shopping the Labor Day sales? The purpose of this lesson is to broaden and deepen...

[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.

Learn all about this National holiday started in 1894 that celebrates how we value work in America presented by History.com.

Article takes a look at the history of the Labor Movement and labor unions through videos, pictures, speeches and more.

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...

Using the book, Ten Mile Day, by Mary Ann Fraser, this instructional activity helps children understand division of labor, competition, and incentives in the workplace.

Ask your learners how they would like working everyday instead of coming to school? This site features a lesson plan to help make students aware of child labor abuses throughout the world.

Overhead view of the first Labor Day parade, in Buffalo, New York on September 5, 1882.

An article regarding the Knights of Labor and their struggle for the eight-hour day, abolition of child labor, equal pay for equal work, and political reforms including the graduated income tax.

In this instructional activity, students will examine the various social classes and learn about the critical role that slaves, freemen, and plebeians played in the day-to-day operations of the Roman Empire. Students will learn about the...

Industrial workers, as industry emerged and grew in the last half of the 19th century, did not profit as the business tycoons did. Read about the very beginnings of attempts to organize as a force to demand higher wages, a shorter work...

A site that documents D-Day and the start of the liberation of concentration camps throughout Europe.

The Library of Congress has created an exhibit which focuses on the extraordinary legacy of Thomas Jefferson--founding father, farmer, architect, inventor, slaveholder, book collector, scholar, diplomat, and the third president of the...

This section of the text looks at how workers, owners, and the government responded differently to the negative effects of the Industrial Revolution. The Luddites rebelled against industrialization. Robert Owen, a wealthy socialist,...

Ohio History Central gives a brief summary of the Great Steel Strike of 1919, an attempt by steel workers to get higher pay and a shorter work day. Find out the results of the strike.

This company claims to be the "oldest and most notable non-profit documentary production and distribution center in the nation." It offers a rich collection of videos on all aspects of African American life and history: e.g., Academy...

Stanley Yelnats is sent to a juvenile correctional camp for boys where each day he is forced to dig holes into a dry lake bed. Selected (8) reading passages (grades 5-8) to pair with the novel "Holes" by Louis Sacher. [Free account...

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.

Find the seal of the National Women's Trade Union League, a union formed by women to address issues not being supported by unions with mostly men as members.

Published in 1924, the book, "The Story of California from the Earliest Days to the Present," by Henry K. Norton, relates the lives of the Chinese who immigrated to California to participate in the gold rush. He also recounts the...