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...

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,...

From the Lowell factory workers to the feminized role of the American schoolteacher, women began to make professional strides during the first half of the 19th century.

The beginning of the Atlantic slave trade uprooted previously established societal norms in West Africa.

The Spanish gained an early foothold in the colonies, quickly becoming the most powerful European power in the New World.

Samuel Gompers, master organizer, had a vision of a national union that would have economic clout, but would steer clear of politics. Read about his organization of skilled workers in craft unions under the banner of the American...

The Southern Colonies developed their own personality, just as the New England and Middle colonies did. Read about the economy of the Southern Colonies, their labor force, and why the second-born of wealthy English familes came to this...

Read about some of the grassroots movements at the heart of Progressivism, and the changes they were pushing for and what they accomplished. Discusses labor issues, including the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Also discusses...

It's hard to believe that there was not a phase known as adolescence until the 1920s. See how child labor laws and the automobile combined to spawn the teenager.

Provides an overview of the history, culture, and lifestyle of Canadian Americans. (Note: Content is not the most current.)

A result of one of the social reforms that attacked child labor was the increase in public education. See how education for all was addressed in the late 19th century, and read about the increased availability of higher education for...

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...

A lesson plan from the producers of the 16-episode PBS series "Freedom: A History of US" that focuses on the growth of militant labor unions like the International Workers of the World, on Joe Hill's role in the IWW, and on the...

Read about the reasons thousands of Irish and Germans emigrated to the United States in the first half of the 19th century. Find out why there was a backlash to influx of so many immigrants, and learn about the Nativists who wanted to...

A dark side to the Jazz Age was the increase in the fear of Communism. Read about the federal government's actions to stem anything that was thought to threaten American security.

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...

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,...

Congressman David Wilmot, even before the end of the Mexican-War, proposed legislation that would outlaw the expansion of slavery into the new territory, should the United States acquire it. Read about his reasons for proposing the...

In order to convince oneself that owning another was defensible, Southerners aruged that there were economic, religious, historical, and legal reaons that slavery was a good thing. Read about some of these justifications in more detail,...

A very brief look at the "Peculiar Institution" of slavery in the South before the Civil War. Read about how slavery became so entrenced and why it drove a wedge between the North and South.

The Industrial Revolution came to America, smuggled in by Samuel Slater, who brought plans for a cotton-spinning mill. See how the growth of industry led to the growth of corporations, the growth of the nation geographically, and the...

Sometimes a pen can be wielded more lethally than a sword. Read about the brave muckrakers who exposed corruption and injustice in government and business. These journalists attacked different areas, but the result was an introduction to...

What began as a place of refuge for Catholics who were discriminated against in England, the colony of Maryland soon suffered religious strife even after the passage of the Toleration Act of 1649. Find out what caused the strife and why...

Western farmers organized in an attempt to have their issues heard politically. Read about the various farmers' organizations which developed into the idea of populism and the formation of the Populist Party.