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.
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
Student will use primary and secondary sources to gain a richer understanding of women's activism and how the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire led to changes in labor and safety regulations in America.
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.
Chicago History Museum
Encyclopedia of Chicago: Women's Trade Union League
Read about the Chicago branch of the Women's Trade Union League and its alliance between women workers and upper-class women who supported their cause.
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.
Ohio History Central
Ohio History Central: Knights of Labor
Ohio History Central gives a brief summary of the actions and goals of the Knights of Labor in the last half of the 19th century. Find out about their push for improved working conditions and whether striking was advantageous or not in...
Virginia Tech
Digital History Reader: Which Side Are You On? The Flint Sit Down Strike
The first conflict between a corporation and labor union materialized in Flint, Michigan in the 1930's. Identify the tensions between General Motors and the United Automobile Workers during this time through Context, articles, images,...
Other
Nlrb: 1947 Taft Hartley Substantive Provisions
The Taft-Hartley Act was a contentious law aimed at limiting the influence of labor unions immediately after World War II. Read about the act and the changes it made to the Wagner Act.
Other
History World International: Industrial Revolution
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...
Other
Illinois Labor History Society: When Women Were Knights
This article discusses women's roles in the Knights of Labor.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Ap Us History Period 6: 1865 1898: Quiz
This practice exercise from Khan Academy covers Period 6: 1865-1898 in American History. The Gilded Age is reviewed in this resource. This resource is designed as a review for the AP US History Test.
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.
Curated OER
History Matters: A Separate Peace: Alice Henry on Women and Unions
A primary source on the influence of women in labor unions in the early 1900's. A distinction between men and women at union meetings is examined.
Other
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
The fascinating history of the WCTU and the many causes it advocated.
Digital History
Digital History: The Second Red Scare
Senator Joseph McCarthy did not create the national obsession with communist subversion. It had arisen in the late 1930s, years before McCarthy had come to public notice. Angry that they had been barred from the corridors of power for 20...
Digital History
Digital History: Wagner Act
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...
Employment Spot
Employment Spot: Labor Day
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...
The History Cat
The History Cat: Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
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...
A&E Television
History.com: The History of Labor Day
Learn all about this National holiday started in 1894 that celebrates how we value work in America presented by History.com.
Other
Key People in Labor History: Mother Jones (1837 1930)
Once called "the most dangerous woman in America", Mary Harris "Mother" Jones was one of the great organizers of the labor and union movements.
Other
Illinois Labor History Society: Gene Debs and the American Railway Union
Description of the rise and fall of the American Railway Union in the context of the Pullman Strike.
Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press.
New Georgia Encyclopedia: Knights of Labor
Reference source for information on the history of the labor organization, the Knights of Labor, nationally and in Georgia, in particular, in the late 1800s and the role it played in organizing southern laborers. Hyperlinks to additional...
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...
University of Washington
University of Washington: Strikes and Unions
The Great Depression built the modern labor movement by growing and strengthening unions. Follow the labor movement through a day-by-day database of newspaper articles chronicling strikes in Washington State. Additionally, students can...