Work and the workplace have gone through enormous changes between the mid-19th century, when 60 percent of Americans made their living as farmers, and the late-20th century, with its shift from an industrial to a knowledge-based economy. The Way We Worked reveals the effects of industrialization, urbanization, immigration, labor unrest, wars, and economic depression on ordinaryworking Americans, whether they toiled in a coal mine, on a tractor, at a typewriter, or on an assembly line. Spanning the years 1857-1987, the exhibition’s 86 black-and-white and color photographs document, in rich visual detail, American workplaces, work clothing, working conditions, and workplace conflicts. They also reflect a workforce shaped by immigration and ethnicity, slavery and racial segregation, wage labor and technology, gender roles and class, as well as by the American ideals of freedom and equality.

Contents	86 framed black-and-white and color photographs, text and graphic panels, 5 large photo murals, labels
Supplemental	Catalogue, videos, education and promotional resources
Participation Fee	$8,000 per 10-week booking period
Size	300 running feet, est. (90 running meters)
Crates	5
Weight	1,350 lbs. (612 kg)
Category	History & Culture
Security	Moderate
Shipping	Outgoing
SITES Contacts	Ed Liskey, 202.633.3142 (scheduling) Jeff Thompson, 202.633.3115 (content)
Tour Begins	October 2006

Dates		Host Institution	Status
10/28/2006	2/18/2007	Oregon Historical Society, Portland, OR	Booked
3/10/2007	5/20/2007	National Archives and Records Administration - Southeast Region Archives, Morrow, GA	Booked
6/9/2007	8/19/2007	Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, MO	Booked
9/8/2007	11/18/2007	Central Florida Community College, Ocala, FL	Booked
12/8/2007	2/17/2008	Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, NY	Booked
3/8/2008	5/18/2008	Historical Society of Long Beach, Long Beach, CA	Booked
6/7/2008	8/17/2008	Amherst Museum, Amherst, NY	Booked
9/6/2008	11/16/2008	East Tennessee Historical Society, Knoxville, TN	Booked
12/6/2008	2/15/2009	East Tennessee Historical Society, Knoxville, TN	Booked
3/7/2009	5/17/2009		Call for Availability
6/6/2009	1/3/2010	National Heritage Museum, Lexington, MA	Booked
1/23/2010	4/4/2010		Call for Availability
4/24/2010	7/4/2010		Call for Availability

The Way We Worked: Photographs from the National Archives is a collection of black and white and color images from the holdings of the National Archives. This 92-page, 10.25" x 8.25" publication, is available from the National Archives for $22.50. >>Order this book

 

Oct. 11, 2006 News Media only: Stephanie Montgomery (202) 633.3122 Public only: (202) 633.1000 National Archives and Smithsonian to Launch Traveling Exhibition Exploring America’s Labor History Work and the workplace have gone through enormous changes between the mid-19th century, when 60 percent of Americans made their living as farmers, and the late 20th century. A new traveling exhibition, The Way We Worked, will feature 86 photographs from the National Archives focusing on the history of work in America and documenting work clothing, locales, conditions and conflicts. The exhibition will open Friday, Oct. 27, at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Ore., the first venue on a 14-city national tour continuing through 2010. The Way We Worked was created by the National Archives with the support of the Foundation for the National Archives, and is organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). The exhibition was previously on view from December 2005 through May at the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. As the depository for historically valuable Federal records, the National Archives is home to thousands of photographs of work and workplaces taken by government agencies for many reasons: to investigate factory safety, track construction progress, office training or to emphasize the continuing importance of humans in a technologically modern environment. The images featured in The Way We Worked, though possibly taken merely for purposes of record keeping, often reveal much more about how social forces such as immigration, gender, ethnicity, class and technology have transformed the workforce. The exhibition is divided into five sections: “WHERE We Worked” explores the places Americans worked, from farms to factories, mines to restaurants, as well as how race and gender often determined roles and status. “HOW We Worked” examines the effects of technology and automation on the workplace with images of people on assembly lines or using their tools of trade. “What We WORE to Work” looks at the way uniforms serve as badges of authority and status, and help make occupations immediately identifiable. “CONFLICT at Work” looks back at not just the inevitable clashes between workers and managers over working conditions, wages and hours, but also how social conflicts, such as segregation, have influenced the workplace. “DANGEROUS or UNHEALTHY Work” features many of the photographs taken by social reformers hoping to ban child labor, reduce the length of the work day and expose unsanitary workplaces. Spanning the years 1857-1987, the images in the exhibition cover the entire range of photographs on the topic in the National Archives holdings. Supplementing the exhibition at various locations will be a video showing a variety of workplaces, and audio segments in which workers from different eras discuss their experiences on the job. The National Archives and Records Administration serves American democracy by safeguarding and preserving the records of our Government, ensuring that the people can discover, use, and learn from this documentary heritage. Among the billions of records at the National Archives are more than 11 million still pictures in the Washington, DC, area alone. In addition, there are millions of photographs in the National Archives Presidential libraries and thousands more among the records held by regional records facilities. SITES has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C., for more than 50 years. SITES connects Americans to their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science and history, which are shown wherever people live, work and play.