There is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.
~Booker T. Washington (1895)
Every man is a consumer, and ought to be a producer. He fails to make his place good in the world unless he not only pays his debt but also adds something to the common wealth.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson (1860)
online resources
Especially for Teachers...
America at Work - (Special Presentation) These films show people at work during the late 1890s and early 1900s.
American Women: Industry and Labor Union Journals - (Special Presentation) Trade and industry journals, especially in the fashion and clothing industries, yield frequent glimpses of women within this male-dominated realm.
American Women: Labor and Progressive Reform - (Special Presentation) During turn-of-the-century industrial America, women banded together to form national and local organizations dedicated to enhancing social justice and advancing the general welfare.
BE Online+ - (Internet Resources) Links to labor related internet sites from Business Reference Services.
Bringing an NCLC Photo Into Focus - (Prints and Photographs) Look closely and learn the story of one of Lewis Hines’ images in the National Child Lamor Committee collection.
National Child Labor Committee Collection - (Prints and Photographs) Click on Arrangement and Access to view more than 5,100 Lewis Hine photographs documenting working and living conditions of children in the United States between 1908 and 1921.
Primary Source Investigation - (Document) Use this primary source investigation strategy as a way for students to examine documents and think critically about their meaning. Themes include Civil War, reform movements, Harlem Renaissance and presidential campaigns.
Sheet Music Gives Clues to Labor Conditions - (The Source) Librarian Nancy Woodward describes how sheet music from American Memory can be used to teach about the labor movement in the late 1800s.
Working in Paterson: Five Fieldworkers Impressions - (Special Presentation) This four-month study of occupational culture in Paterson, New Jersey (considered to be the cradle of the Industrial Revolution in America) was conducted in 1994.
Especially for your Students...
American Treasures: Child Labor - (Exhibition) Learn about Lewis Hine’s role in campaigning against the abuses of industrial child labor.
American Treasures: Women’s Trade Union Seal - (Exhibition) The National Women’s Trade Union League was formed in response to the lack of interest of male unionists in the organization of women workers.
Buena Vista Labor Day Festival - (Local Legacies) Buena Vista's Labor Day Festival dates to the mid-1960s, when the city bought the Glen Maury farm, planning to convert it to a community park.
Labor and Luck - (Wise Guide) Read about the history of the first Labor Day in America.
Sit-Down Strike - (Local Legacies) The sit-down strike of 1936-1937 in Flint, Michigan, lasted only 44 days, but its impact would alter the course of the industrial labor movement forever.
St. Paul Trades & Labor Assembly's Annual Labor Day - (Local Legacies) The first St. Paul Labor Day picnic was held at Liep's Pavilion, a popular entertainment site on the shores of White Bear Lake, just east of St. Paul, MN.
Today in History (August 22, 1966) UFWOC formed - (Today in History) On this date the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC), later to be renamed the United Farm Workers of America, was formed.
Use these lesson plans (created
by educators for educators) to explore topics about science and
invention with your students in your classroom:
Who Really Built America? - (Grades 6-12) Students examine child labor in America from 1880-1920 to gain a personal perspective of how work affected the American child.
United We Stand - (Grades 8-10) Students study the working conditions of American laborers at the turn of the century.
Child Labor in America - (Grades 6-12) Students critically examine, respond to and report on photographs as historical evidence.
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? - (Grade 10) Students investigate people who experienced the Great Depression and received relief from the New Deal.
Is there
a title (or two) that you always read to (or with) your students
when teaching about this theme? Are there
invaluable reference books that you use?
Staff from The Library of Congress have begun a collection of
titles for the "Labor in America " theme. We hope you will contribute
your favorites to our growing bibliography!
Create your own collaborative lesson
plans using material related to this month's theme assembled from
The Learning Page Collection
Connections:
Working in Paterson: Occupational Heritage in an Urban Setting - (Summary Only) This collection of interviews and photographs represent a four-month study of occupational culture in Paterson, New Jersey, considered to be the cradle of the Industrial Revolution in America.
Creative Americans: Portraits by Carl Van Vechten, 1932-1964 - (Summary and Teaching Resources) Use the occupational index to explore over one thousand portraits of creative individuals taken by photographer, Carl Van Vechten between 1932 - 1964.
