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| Celebrating Labor Day |
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Further Activities
- Have the students research the history of Labor
Day in their communities. For one example of an in-depth
look at labor issues in one city (Detroit) since the
first Labor Day, see the newspaper article, “How
Labor Won Its Day.”
http://info.detnews.com/history/
story/index.cfm?id=150&category=business
- Have students interview one or more retired workers
about their conditions of employment when they were
younger. Ask them to get ready for the interviews
by reading about earlier working conditions and prepare
lists of questions to ask the interviewees.
- Compare the actions of U.S. President Grover Cleveland,
a president who opposed labor unions but declared
Labor Day a national holiday, and the issues faced
and the actions taken by Illinois Governor John Peter
Altgeld (see http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/prisoner.htm
for information about Governor John Peter Altgeld
and the pardoning of the Haymarket prisoners). Who
did more for workers?
- Research the life of key business and labor leaders
in the last part of the nineteenth century. Report
on their goals, how they achieved or failed to achieve
their objectives, and what difference they made in
American society.
Business leaders: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick,
Jay Gould, J. Pierpont Morgan, John D. Rockefeller
Labor leaders: Eugene V. Debs, Samuel Gompers, Terence
V. Powderly
- Debate the following topics: If people work hard
and play by the rules they will be successful. Newspapers
and television stations report more favorably about
(business) (labor). The capitalist economic system
provides the greatest opportunities for the most people.
Labor Day has lost its significance because all the
important issues have been resolved.
Additional Resources:
General Resources
http://www.dol-union-reports.gov/oasam/programs/laborhall/books.htm
US Dept of Labor's "Labor Hall of Fame."
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/browse/
Library of Congress--browse by topic; by time period;
by collections containing types of materials, by place.
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/community/cc_labor.php
Library of Congress site for numerous resources related
to the history of labor.
http://www.geocities.com/m_lause.geo/AmLabHist/VLreinst.html
Links to many research institutions for labor.
http://www.history.umd.edu/Gompers/index.htm
A documentary history of the American working class including
information about Samuel Gompers, AFL, Knights of Labor,
IWW, and an extensive bibliography.
http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/articles.htm
Labor history articles from Illinois Labor History Society.
http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/curricul.htm
Illinois Labor History Society. Many online resources
and "A Curriculum of United States Labor History for Teachers."
http://6hourday.org/knightsoflabor.html
Official website for today's Knights of Labor
The Haymarket Incident
http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/haymarket.htm
The Haymarket Tragedy with links to related articles
http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/prisoner.htm
Governor John Peter Altgeld Pardons the Haymarket Prisoners
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