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.
A&E Television
History.com: Labor Movement
Article takes a look at the history of the Labor Movement and labor unions through videos, pictures, speeches and more.
PBS
Pbs: History Detectives: The Early Labor Movement
Brief summary of the early labor movement and the role that labor unions played.
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...
Other
Illinois Labor History Society: When Women Were Knights
This article discusses women's roles in the Knights of Labor.
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.
Ohio History Central
Ohio History Central: American Federation of Labor
A history of the American Federation of Labor and its organization in 1881 by Samuel Gompers. Read about its growth and eventual combining with the Congress of Industrial Organization to become the AFL-CIO.
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...
University of Houston
University of Houston: An American Industrial Revolution Unit: Rise of Labor
Students learn about the history of the labor movement in Industrial America, including some of the major unions that emerged and the most well-known strikes. Next, they make connections to the role of unions today. They then work in...
History Teacher
Historyteacher.net: The Rise of Big Business & the Labor Movement: Quiz (2)
This 10-question multiple choice quiz is immediately scored and tests your knowledge of the labor movement in the late 19th century.
University of Houston
University of Houston: Engines of Our Ingenuity: American Industrial Revolution
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.
Ohio History Central
Ohio History Central: Terence Powderly
A brief biography of Terence Powderly, formative leader of the Knights of Labor, as well as an official in the Bureau of Immigration.
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.
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.
Shmoop University
Shmoop: Labor in the Gilded Age
The Gilded Age was a period of terrible labor violence, as industrialists and workers fought for control of the workplace. Workers organized the first large American labor unions during the Gilded Age, while employers tried to stop the...
History Teacher
Historyteacher.net: The Rise of Big Business & the Labor Movement: Quiz (1)
10-question multiple choice quiz is immediately scored and tests your knowledge of industry and the labor movement in the late 19th century.
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...
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.
Other
Illinois State Museum: The American Railway Union
Excerpt from U.S. Strike Commission Report. Site also provides focus questions at the bottom.
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.
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...
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: "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....