Other
United Mine Workers of America: Umwa History: The Ludlow Massacre
A brief history of the Ludlow Massacre in Colorado in 1914. Read about the thwarted attempts of coal miners to unionize.
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Comission
Explore Pa History: Founding Convention of the Cio Historical Marker
Read about the formation of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, a union that represented steel workers, among many other factoy workers. Find out about their tactics used in strikes during the Great Depression.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: A Helping Hand for Labor
Theodore Roosevelt had many talents. See how he acted as arbitrator in the coal strike of 1902, and supported the demands of the United Mine Workers to improve the working conditions of the miners.
Hartford Web Publishing
World History Archives: Indispensable Ally: Black Workers, Formation of the Cio
This article relates the history of African Americans in the union movement during the Great Depression. Read about the importance of black membership in the CIO, the ILA, and the steel industry.
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.
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...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Labor vs. Management
As Big Business grew in the Gilded Age, so did conflict between the workers and management. Read about the techniques used by both groups to try to press their points and get the upper hand in negotiations.
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.
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.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: Immigration and Migration
[Free Registration/Login Required] A lengthy essay discussing the differing opinions about immigration and the role of immigrants in the United States in the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century. Find out about the...
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.
New Deal Network
New Deal Network: The Nation: It's War in Youngstown
A contemporary article from the magazine, The Nation, which describes the steel strike in Youngstown, Ohio, in June 1937. Read about the background of the strike, and follow the author's ordeal as she was arrested, despite her press...
University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame: The Story of the Steel Seizure Case [Pdf]
Read about how President Roosevelt used his presidential powers to prohibit labor strikes during World War II. Scroll to page 4 of this PDF to read this background information which is part of a discussion about President Truman's...
Other
Ukraine: Rights Are Not Given, They Are Taken
Stories of Ukrainian workers and their struggles to fight for good working conditions as the country tries to break away from its communist past. (Date of Article: March 2004)
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Comission
Expore Pa History: Stories From Pa History: Labor Strikes and Mine Disasters
Read about the dangers of coal mining in Pennsylvania, the emergence of unions in an attempt to protect the miners, and some of the mining disasters that took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Wilson Center: 1980 81 Polish Crisis
Learn about the Polish Crisis of 1980-1981 that began with a wave of strikes across Poland and the formation of the first independent labor union. The documents are from Russian archives that were writtne in response to the Polish crisis.
Digital History
Digital History: Haymarket Square Riot
A description of the Haymarket Square riot and its cause. Find quotes from the Chicago Tribune which called the protesters insurrectionists, and two Illinois governors who doubted the guilt of those rounded up, charged, and convicted of...
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.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: Bloody Thursday Riots
Article from the San Francisco News, July 3, 1934, reports on a union strike which occured in the San Fransico area. May be a bit violent for young students to read.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Eugene v. Debs and American Socialism
Read about the growth of the Socialist Party in America under the leadership of Eugene V. Debs. Find out about the strikes he led, his political activities, and his arrest for sedition in 1918. Read also about the radical union,...
Steven Kreis, PhD
The History Guide: Lech Walesa
A brief biography of Lech Walesa and the independent labor movement in Poland. Describes how labor used strikes to improve their working conditions and qualities of life. Their struggles have been an inspiration to labor movements all...
New Deal Network
New Deal Network: Big Steel, Little Steel, and c.i.o.
An article from the July 31, 1937 edition from The Nation magazine discussing the relationship between Big Steel, Little Steel, and the Committee of Industrial Organization (CIO). Written with a great deal of irony.
Library of Congress
Loc: America at the Turn of the Century
A short report on America by 1900: "..the American nation had established itself as a world power. The West was Won. The frontier -- the great fact of 300 years of American history -- was no more."
Other
Amdocs:ludlow Massacre, 1913: Song by Woody Guthrie
Read the words of a Woody Guthrie song giving an account of the Ludlow Massacre during the Colorado coal strikes in 1913.