Annotated Resource Set (ARS)
Content Theme:
Labor and Management Conflict in the Early 20th Century
Developed by:
Kenneth F. de Masi
Contextual Paragraph for Resource Set:
The late 19th-century and early 20th-century saw the emergence of widespread growth and
development of a modern industry and a wage-earning labor force. This was a time of great change and
challenge for both unions and management, as well as the public and the government. Also seen was an
increase in American labor-management conflict, epitomized by violent strikes, riots, bombings, and
destruction of property.
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
1
Resource Set
Ludlow Massacre 1914
Victor, Colorado Strike by
Western Federation of
Miners, c. 1903
Men & Machinery in
Underground Coal Mine
National Guard troops in
Leadville, Colorado during
miner’s strike, c. 1896
1913 Copper Miners Strike
in Michigan
Western Federation of Miners
Letter of Union Requests,
1913
Copper District Union
Western Federation of
Miners
Box 217, Hancock Mich.,
July 14, 1913
(http://photoswest.org/cgibin/imager?10060476+X60476)
“8 Hour Strike” Song
Lyrics by Billy Pastor
(http://memory.loc.gov/mu
sic/sm/sm1872/10400/104
34/002.tif)
(http://photoswest.org/phot
os/10060251/10060317.jpg
)
Strike Poster & Warning
(http://digarch.lib.mtu.edu/
images/6170_l.jpg)
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
(http://memory.loc.gov/ser
vice/pnp/thc/5a41000/5a41
500/5a41594r.jpg)
(http://photoswest.org/phot
os/10060251/10060315.jpg
)
(http://digarch.lib.mtu.edu/
showbib.aspx?bib_id=629
726#)
(http://www.hu.mtu.edu/vu
p/Strike/letter.html)
Minimum Wage 1923
National Women’s Trade
Union League
Union Mass Meeting of
Copper Miners, 1913
1913-1914 Strike Banner
(http://memory.loc.gov/ser
vice/pnp/ppmsca/02900/02
945r.jpg)
(http://memory.loc.gov/am
mem/awhhtml/awmss5/d0
2.html)
(http://digarch.lib.mtu.edu/
showbib.aspx?bib_id=628
900#)
(http://digarch.lib.mtu.edu/
images/2914_l.jpg)
2
Notes/Comments:
There are numerous photographs of labor organizers, strikes and demonstrations during the late 19th and early 20th century. Labor conflict in areas of the country
where there were nearby population centers tended to garner the most publicity, hence these are the best documented. Coal miners in the East and Appalachia and
copper miners in the upper Mid-west are good examples. Where there was extraordinary violence there was often an increase in the amount of documentation as well.
Various labor unions which arose during this period include the Knights of Labor, American Railway Union, United Mine Workers, American Federation of Labor,
the Western Federation of Miners, longshoremen and agrarian unions, and the International Workers of the World (IWW).
Examples of labor conflicts and incidences of violence which may be able to be researched: The Homestead steel strike of 1892; the Pullman railroad strike of 1894; the
Utah Carbon County Strike in 1903; the White caps tobacco strikes and violence in Kentucky and Tennessee from 1902-09; the Paterson, New Jersey Silk Strike of
1913; Ludlow Massacre of coal miners in 1914; the Copper County Strike in Michigan 1913-1914; the Bisbee, Arizona Deportation of 1917; the Logan County, WV coal
miners strike in 1921.
Records available from the WPA of recollections and reminiscences about strikes, demonstrations, and organizing (especially by the International Workers of the
World – the “Wobblies”) can be useful in establishing the existence of conflict and passion found in many of the relationships between workers and ownership.
For obvious reasons motion picture and sound recordings prior to the late 1920s are rare and difficult to locate. There are, however, a number of secondary sources
recreating the songs, speeches, and action of the times. You may find recordings of I.W.W. songs, e.g., Ralph Chaplin’s “Solidarity Forever” (1915) or John Brill’s
“Dump the Bosses Off Your Back” (1916).
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
3
Resource Set
Information on 1913
miners strike and tragedy
of Italian Hall
Labor problems and labor
administration in the
United States during the
world war
International Workers of
the World (I.W.W.)
Recruiting
Reminiscences of a Rebel
(Interview with I.W.W.
organizer)
WPA Interview with
Union Member (Partial
Transcript)
Audio recording of opinion
on IWW
(http://memory.loc.gov:80
81/pnp/habshaer/mi/mi060
0/mi0643/data/006.gif)
(http://ia341021.us.archive
.org/3/items/laborproblems
lab00watkiala/laborproble
mslab00watkiala_bw.pdf)
(http://dbs.ohiohistory.org/
africanam/images/Nwspap
er/Advocate/Vol06/num16/
01_14/01_14.gif)
(http://memory.loc.gov/ms
s/wpalh2/25/2503/2503051
1/25030501.gif)
(http://memory.loc.gov/ms
s/wpalh2/25/2503/2503051
1/25030505.gif)
(http://memory.loc.gov/mb
rs/nforum/9000038.wav)
Labor Day Parade, c. 1900,
in Union Square, NYC
J. W. Brown, national
UMWA labor organizer
arrives in Colorado
Victims of Strike Violence
in Colorado, c. 1914
AFL Broadside on
Organizing
Paterson, NJ strike
reminiscence
Lumbermen at Work
(http://memory.loc.gov/am
mem/today/sep05.html)
(http://photoswest.org/phot
os/10060251/10060368.jpg
)
(http://photoswest.org/pho
tos/10061126/10061219.jp
g)
(http://memory.loc.gov/rbc
/rbpe/rbpe20/rbpe209/2090
070b/001dq.gif)
(http://memory.loc.gov:80
81/master/afc/afcwip/dta01
1/dta01103.wav)
(http://memory.loc.gov/mb
rs/awal/2572s1.mov)
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
4
Notes/Comments:
There are additional repositories of primary source documents of labor organizers, strikes and demonstrations during the late 19 th and early 20th century. These include
regional and local historical societies, museums, university and college collections, and the labor unions themselves. Be mindful of the copyright regulations which may
apply. Besides the primary sources, however, there is a necessity to have additional historical information which may help to place the documents and artifacts, etc., in
context.
A particularly useful, interesting, and occasionally controversial textbook chapter is “The Socialist Challenge” found in various editions of A People’s History of the
United States, 1492-Present by Howard Zinn (http://www.historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html). You may wish to juxtapose this view with that of William
Bennett’s volumes America: The Last Best Hope (http://www.roadmaptolastbesthope.com/about).
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
5
Annotations
Grade
Level
7-12
Curriculum
Connections
History
Curriculum
Standards
Arizona Strand 1
Concept 1 – PO 4/PO
5
Learning Objectives
Content Objectives
Thinking Objectives
Students will develop
comprehension of the basis of the
conflicts between the labor
movement and owners and/or
management.
Students will describe the events,
social and political context, and
the effects and outcomes of labor
union movements in conflict.
Civics
Arizona Strand 3
Concept 3 - PO 4
Economics
Arizona Strand 5
Concept 2 – PO 3: b
Technology
Standard 3: 3T-P1 –
PO 3
4T-P1 – PO 1
5T-P1 – PO ¾
5T-P2 – PO 3
Students will develop an
understanding of the effectiveness
of labor organizing in the U.S.
among miners and others.
Students will develop an
understanding of how significant
and widespread the labor
movement and organizing was
during the late 19th and early 20th
century.
Writing
Strand 3 – Concept 2 –
PO 1
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
Links to Other
Resources
Distribute photo and document
analysis forms following the NARA
format.
Students will construct a
graph/timeline displaying
major labor disputes from
the 1880s through the
1930s. Include information
tracing the history of federal
and/or state or local laws
and efforts to address
concerns of labor unions
and working folks.
http://www.library.arizona
.edu/exhibits/bisbee/docs
/092.html
Students will analyze the reasons
and motivations for the rise and
growth of American labor
organizations.
Students will evaluate the
reliability and credibility of
sources.
Have students research the
organizing efforts of labor unions,
especially the Western Federation
of Miners and the International
Workers of the World.
Students will analyze the
complexities and multiple
perspectives found in this issue.
Students will develop an
understanding of the impact of
labor movements on working
conditions for American men and
women.
Students will evaluate in what
ways more than one interpretation
of factual materials may be valid.
Students will develop an
understanding of the extent to
which labor strikes involved
violence on the part of the
government.
Students will evaluate the causes
of the use of violence by the
government against labor strikes.
Students will be able to analyze
primary source documents of
different genre.
Suggested
Assessment
Strategies
Distribute copies of selected
photographs and have students
analyze for clues to issues,
events, location or setting, timeframe, and participants (including
discrepancies and
inconsistencies).
Concept 7 – PO 1
Students will develop an
understanding of the goals of
reform movements of the late 19th
and early 20th century, e.g.,
Populism, progressivism, labor
unions.
Suggested Learning
Strategies
Students will evaluate the impact
and effectiveness of labor strikes
on workers’ wages and working
conditions.
Divide students into small groups
and provide them with copies of
the various documents to study.
Instruct each group to analyze the
documents and prepare a brief
oral presentation to the whole
class describing everything they
see and presenting inferences
they make and questions which
arise.
Students will compare one
labor conflict in a particular
setting with other labor
conflicts nationally.
Students will research one
of the individuals or labor
groups involved in a major
dispute during the time
frame and prepare a
biographical sketch detailing
the involvement or
relationship to the dispute.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/
amex/wilson
http://www.ohiohistorycen
tral.org/entry.php?rec=64
4&nm=Wobblies
http://query.nytimes.com/
search/sitesearch
(good resource for news
accounts of specific
events and years)
http://www.lib.berkeley.ed
u/MRC/LaborVid.html
Assign students to pairs or trios to
create a PowerPoint Presentation
using various resources and
information from the Resource Set
and the links to other resources.
As a variant of this exercise,
assign students to present on a
particular aspect or incidence or
labor violence.
Lead a student discussion
centered on the importance of
recognizing in what ways more
than one interpretation of factual
materials is valid.
6