Article
Hartford Web Publishing

World History Archives: Bread & Roses: The Strike Led and Won by Women

For Students 9th - 10th
An article from Workers World describes the Bread and Roses Strike and explains why it ended up to be so effective. One interesting aspect is that there were immigrants working in the Lawrence textile mills speaking 25 different...
Website
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Comission

Expore Pa History: Railroad Strike of 1877 Historical Marker

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the Railroad Strike of 1877 that started in Pennsylvania and spread across the Midwest. Find out about the violence against the strikers and the use of the military to end the strike.
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Great Upheaval

For Students 5th - 8th
What started as a localized railway strike by workers upset by a pay cut spread across the country in the summer of 1877. Read about the striking workers and the force used against them, how the strike affected rail service, and what 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...
Handout
Other

United Farm Workers: The Rise of the Ufw

For Students 9th - 10th
History of the United Farm Workers union, with information about 1960 conditions and the efforts to improve them.
Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1865 1898: Labor Battles in the Gilded Age

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses the Homestead Strike of 1892 and the Pullman Strike of 1894 and how these ended, as well as responses of the federal government to the labor movement. Includes questions for students at end.
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Us History: 1865 1898: The Knights of Labor

For Students 9th - 10th
In the late nineteenth century, the Knights of Labor attempted to organize workers of all kinds into a union to improve working hours and conditions for laborers.
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Us History: 1865 1898: Labor Battles in the Gilded Age

For Students 9th - 10th
As the United States became a major industrial power, conflict between workers and factory owners intensified. Read about the Homestead Strike and the Pullman Strike, two of the most famous labor battles in American history.
Activity
Other

American Federation of Labor: George Meany (1894 1980)

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource presents a brief history of AFL-CIO leader George Meany.
Handout
Country Studies US

Country Studies: The Struggles of Labor

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

History Matters: "Word Has Just Been Received:"truman Speaks on Railway Strike

For Students 9th - 10th
Read the text and listen to President Truman's speech concerning his plans to address the railway strike that was affecting the post-World War II economy. (12 min.19 sec.)
Handout
Other

Lehigh University: The Molly Maguires

For Students 9th - 10th
An interesting site compiled by a Lehigh University undergraduate student, regarding a secret mining organization known as the "Molly Maguires" who operated in the Pennsylvania coal mines during the latter part of the 19th century.
Handout
University of Houston

University of Houston: Engines of Our Ingenuity: American Industrial Revolution

For Students 6th - 8th
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.
Handout
Steven Kreis, PhD

The History Guide: Lech Walesa

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Website
The History Place

The History Place: Statistics of the Holocaust

For Students 9th - 10th
This page from The History Place has a chart with the number of Jewish people killed in the Holocaust. Nearly 6 million Jewish people were murdered. This site is disturbing its apparent accuracy of the Jewish slaughter.
Handout
National Women's Hall of Fame

National Women's Hall of Fame: "Mother" Mary Harris Jones

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
Website
Other

Encyclopedia of Cleveland History:1919 Steel Strike

For Students 9th - 10th
This brief article describes the actions of the local steel unions in Cleveland in support of the national steel strike of 1919. Find out about the effect of the strike on the unions.
Handout
Other

Ue News Feature: The Great Strike of 1877 Remembering a Worker Rebellion

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about how the Railroad Strike of 1877 was a first in many ways in labor history. This article sets up the reasons for the strike and the mixed results.
Handout
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum

Cprr Photographic History Museum: Tunnels of the Pacific Railroad

For Students 9th - 10th
This site offers an abstract from Van Nostrand's Eclectic Engineering Magazine from 1870 from a paper by John R. Gilliss. A comprehensive look at the tunnels built along the route of the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific...
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Eugene v. Debs and American Socialism

For Students 5th - 8th
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,...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Text Sets: Workers' Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Handout
Utah Education Network

Uen: Utah History Encyclopedia: Golden Spike National Historic Site

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides information about the first transcontinental railroad, which was built by nearly 30,000 Irish, German, Italian, and Chinese laborers.
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Labor vs. Management

For Students 5th - 8th
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.
Website
Ohio History Central

Ohio History Central: Great Railroad Strike of 1877

For Students 9th - 10th
Read how the Great Railroad Strike started and why federal troops were called in to control the strikers.

Other popular searches