Lesson Plan
University of Houston

University of Houston: An American Industrial Revolution Unit: Rise of Labor

For Teachers 9th - 10th
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...
Activity
Cornell University

Cornell University: Law School: Labor Law: An Overview

For Students 9th - 10th
This site gives a description of labor law and describes government acts which protect the labor force.
Article
University of Groningen

American History: Essays: The Iron Horse: The Railroad Unions

For Students 9th - 10th
From a lengthy essay on the history of the railroad in the United States. This section lists a number of the railroad unions that formed in the latter half of the 19th century, and what they stood for.
Website
Other

I Boston: Boston Police Strike of 1919

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Article
Other

Ohio's Steel Mill War: The Little Steel Strike of 1937

For Students 9th - 10th
A several page article about the labor unrest in the steel industries in 1937. Find out about what the union activists were fighting for, martial law that was declared in Ohio, and the final results of the strike.
Website
US Department of Labor

U.s. Department of Labor

For Students 9th - 10th
The United States Department of Labor's homepage. Contains information on programs, services, laws, and regulations. Includes a library, newsroom, and guide to DOL agencies.
Primary
Curated OER

History Matters: Joe Rudiak Remembers the 1919 Strike

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Primary
Curated OER

History Matters: "A Healthy Public Opinion"

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
Website
Other

Mass Moments: January 12, 1912: Bread and Roses Strike Begins

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Website
Other

Wpt: The Sit Down Strike of 1937

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: Biography of America: Capital and Labor

For Students 9th - 10th
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,...
Website
University of Virginia

Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: Harry S. Truman: Domestic Affairs

For Students 9th - 10th
A broad look at the Truman presidency domestically including the labor problems he encountered, his Fair Deal, the instransigence of the Republican Party, and McCarthyism.
Handout
National Women’s History Museum

National Women's History Museum: Mary Harris Jones

For Students 9th - 10th
Female labor activist "Mother Jones" was a self-proclaimed "hell-raiser" in the cause of economic justice.
Activity
Cato Institute

Cato Institute: Global Competition Meets the New Deal

For Students 9th - 10th
This article gives you information on what laws are, and facts about the global economy. Specifically, it discusses whether or not quality circles are illegal, and how global competition relates to the New Deal. (Date of Article: Feb....
Article
San Diego State University

San Diego State University: How Industrial Unionism Was Won

For Students 9th - 10th
From Walter Lindner's Progressive Party pamphlet, this detailed description of the Flint sit-down strike of 1936-1937 outlines the causes and results of the UAW's collective action.
Unknown Type
History Teacher

Historyteacher.net: The Rise of Big Business & the Labor Movement: Quiz (2)

For Students 9th - 10th
This 10-question multiple choice quiz is immediately scored and tests your knowledge of the labor movement in the late 19th century.
Handout
Other

Uic: Women's Trade Union League of Chicago Collection

For Students 9th - 10th
A very brief description of what the Women's Trade Union League was, why it was formed, and what actions it took.
Website
Other

Women of Valor: Women's Trade Union League: Lillian Wald

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief description of the reasons for founding the Women's Trade Union League and Lillian Wald, one of the founding members.
Graphic
Library of Congress

Loc: American Memory: Drawing of the National Women's Trade Union League Seal

For Students 9th - 10th
American Memory's resources on American Women include a drawing of the seal of the National Women's Trade Union League's seal and a short description of the purpose of the league.
Handout
Digital History

Digital History: Wagner Act

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the growth of labor unions during the 1930s as the Great Depression continued, due to the passage of the Wagner Act. Find out about the strikes and the conflict between labor and management, as well as conflict within the...
Handout
The History Cat

The History Cat: Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

For Students 9th - 10th
Looks at the garment factory industry in the 1800s and the early part of the 20th century, where workers toiled in sweatshop conditions. After a terrible fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in 1911, labor unions gained support in...
Handout
Other

History World International: Industrial Revolution

For Students 9th - 10th
A short history of the Industrial Revolution, the reasons that it began in England, some of the significant inventions that had a major impact, changes in transportation, the rise of labor unions, its spread to the United States, and the...
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Organized Labor

For Students 5th - 8th
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...
Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Knights of Labor

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn interesting details about the Knights of Labor, the first major American labor union to be established.

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