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.
Department of Defense
Do Dea: Ap Us History: Unit 10: Understanding American History
This extensive learning module looks at how themes of American history can create a better understanding of the big picture of the nation's history.
OpenStax
Open Stax: Transformation in North 1800 50: Early Industrialization Northeast
Examines the transformation of work from artisan-centered to a mechanized workforce. Looks at the emergence of industrialization and the impact it had on production and on the worker experience, the development of the consumer society,...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Roots of the Movement
Progressivism got a push from the Populist movement, a reaction to the forgettable presidents and laissez-faire government in the Gilded Age. Find a listing of authors who wrote about progressive ideas, and see what influence populism...
Other
New Georgia Encyclopedia: Progressive Era
A good overview of the reforms that were instituted not only in Georgia, but in the entire country during the Progressive Era. Read a history of the beginnings of progressivism, the people involved, and a recounting of the various...
Other
Key People in Labor History: Asa Philip Randolph (1889 1979)
Biographical essay on A. Philip Randolph, one of the organizers of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. He was also very active in civil rights and the movement to end discrimination in the military and defense industries.
CommonLit
Common Lit: Text Sets: Workers' Rights
As America grew, so did its production of agriculture and manufacturing, leading to a rise in workers and their demands. Study the history of worker's rights in America from the Industrial Revolution to today. This collection includes 13...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Classroom: The Pursuit of Justice
This book analyzes 30 Supreme Court cases chosen by a group of Supreme Court justices and leading civics educators as the most important for American citizens to understand. An additional 100 significant cases included in state history...
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: The Iron Horse: The Workingmen's Party
From a lengthy essay on the history of the railroad in the United States. This section describes the emergence of the Workingmen's Party as a political force in St. Louis, its role in the railroad strikes of 1877, and how it may have...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1890 1945: The Age of Empire: Muckrakers
Discusses the muckraking journalists and novelists who were at the forefront of movements pushing for stronger protections for workers and consumers. Their work led to the passage of several important pieces of legislation. Includes...
Oregon Secretary of State
Oregon History: Troubled Times
Although this site concerns itself with Oregon, the issues are nationwide. Article discusses the background of the Populist movement.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: 300 Women Who Changed History: Emma Goldman
This Britannica biography provides a brief, objective view of Emma Goldman's (1869-1940 CE) political life. Includes additional reading references.
Digital History
Digital History: Feminism Reborn
This comprehensive survey of the women's movement during the 1960s and 1970s documents women and politics, women's wages, legal discrimination against women, stereotypes of women, women's rights legislation, and women's rights...
The History Cat
The History Cat: The Industrial Revolution
Summarizes the events of the Industrial Revolution in Britain by highlighting what happened in the cotton industry and the mining industry.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: America's History in the Making: The Progressives
Comprehensive teaching unit that explores the Progressive period in America and the reform movements that accompanied it. Contains video and text materials, web interactives, student oriented activities, and a timeline of key events from...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Biography of America: Capital and Labor
This thirty-minute video, the seventeenth in a series on American history, examines the rocky relationship between labor, management, and industry from 1882 to 1901. You can also read the transcript, find a map of the Anthracite Strike,...
Other
Afscme: "I've Been to the Mountaintop" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Learn about the the events of the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike which drew Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Memphis, which is where he was soon to be assassinated. Excellent source of primary sources and first hand accounts of the...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Text Sets: Slavery in America
People enslaved Africans for their enforced labor from before America's founding until the end of the Civil War. Learn about the history of slavery, its effects on a budding nation, and the fight to abolish it. This collection includes...
OpenStax
Open Stax: Americans and the Great War 1914 1919: A New Home Front
World War I changed the configuration of the workforce and organized labor took the opportunity to strengthen its power base. This section looks at the impact of these changes on women and African Americans, as well as how the women's...
Other
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
The fascinating history of the WCTU and the many causes it advocated.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Education: Spotlight Biography: Labor Reformers
Biographical information on Samuel Gompers, Frances Perkins and Cesar Chavez. All three were inspirations for the labor union movement.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Movement South and Westward
Following Eli Whitney's invention in 1793 of the cotton gin -- a machine that separated raw cotton from seeds and other waste -- the cotton market boomed. Planters in the South bought land from small farmers who frequently moved farther...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1890 1945: The Age of Empire: The Progressive Era
The Progressive Era from the 1890s to the 1920s evolved as a response to the negative effects of industrialization. Reforms that emerged provided protections for workers and consumers and gave women voting rights. Backlash against the...
University of Pennsylvania
Mary Harris Mother Jones
A short, easy-to-understand biography of Mother Jones (1837-1930 CE) who was active in union and labor movements.