Primary Sources: U.S. Labor
General Primary Resources in American Labor History
On this tab you'll find primary source documents related to the American labor movement. For more documents and secondary articles on this subject, see the Appendices in the Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor.
- National Child Labor Committee CollectionWorking as an investigative photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), Lewis Hine (1874-1940) documented working and living conditions of children in the United States between 1908 and 1924. The collection consists of the NCLC's more than 5,100 photographic prints and 355 glass negatives, each useful for the study of labor, reform movements, children, working class families, education, public health, urban and rural housing conditions, industrial and agricultural sites, and other aspects of urban and rural life in America in the early twentieth century.
Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor by Serving as the ideal place for students and interested readers to begin their research, this A-Z resource covers the history of organized labor in all of its complexity, from the dawn of the industrial revolution to the post-industrial age.
Descriptions and Recollections of Labor in the U.S.
- Emma Goldman: Excerpts from Her AutobiographyFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Eugene V. Debs: Excerpts from His Statement Upon Sentencing for Violation of the Espionage ActFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- The Lawrence Strike, 1912: Excerpt from the Autobiography of Big Bill HaywoodFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Flint Sit-Down Strike: Excerpt of 1976 Interview of Genora Johnson DollingerFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Forty Years in a Steel Mill: Studs Terkel Interviews Steelworker Steve DubiFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- An Insider's View of the Fair Employment Practices Committee: An Interview with Earl B. DickersonFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Persecution of the Industrial Workers of the World: “Big Bill” Haywood's Description of the 1919 Murder of Wesley EverestFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Real-Life Rosie the Riveter: Excerpt of Augusta Clawson's Experiences as a World War II Shipyard WorkerFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Stella Nowicki: Interview with a Meatpacking Plant Worker, 1973From Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Terence V. Powderly: Excerpts from His AutobiographyFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Voluntarism: Excerpts from Samuel Gompers's AutobiographyFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Excerpts from Samuel Gompers's Testimony before a U.S. House Committee upon the Relations between Labor and CapitalFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Triangle Fire: Excerpts from the March 1911 New York Times Account of the Fire and from an April 1911 Speech by Rose SchneidermanFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Sweatshops: Excerpt from Louis Levine's Description of Turn-of-the-Century Abuses in Garment-Industry SweatshopsFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Textile Workers: Excerpt of Testimony before the U.S. Senate by John HillFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Gilded Age Social Conditions: Testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee upon the Relations between Labor and CapitalFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
Documents from Labor Organizations
- Founding of the American Federation of Labor (AFL): Excerpts from the AFL Call to ActionFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Eight-Hour Association: 1886 Appeal for Reduction in Working HoursFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Knights of Labor: Preamble and Platform to Their ConstitutionFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Coalition of Labor Union Women: Mission StatementFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) Constitution: Preamble and Article IIFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Life in Lowell, Massachusetts: Boarding House and Factory Rules for the Hamilton Manufacturing CompanyFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Grape Boycott: September 1965 Memo of Cesar ChavezFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
Legislation and other Government Documents
- National Labor Relations (Wagner) ActFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Taft-Hartley Labor Relations ActFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Pullman, Illinois, a Company Town: Excerpt from U.S. Strike Commission Report on the Chicago Strikes of June and July 1894From Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Pullman Strike: Another Excerpt from the U.S. Strike Commission ReportFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
Articles
- Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902: Response to a New York Times Letter by Mine Owners Spokesman George BaerFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Black Workers after the Knights of Labor: July 1918 Article from The MessengerFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Excluding Black Workers: 1902 Letter in Locomotive Firemen's Magazine and 1929 Article by Elmer Anderson Carter inOpportunityFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Colored National Labor UnionFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Comparable Worth: 1986 Minnesota Study by Sara Evans and Barbara NelsonFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Direct Action and Sabotage: Excerpt from May 1912 Article by Frank Bohn in SolidarityFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement (D.R.U.M.): Excerpt of February 1971 Article in Inner-City VoiceFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Forcing the Hand of the Fair Employment Practices Committee: Excerpt from November 1942 Article in Survey Graphic MagazineFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Immigrant Workers: Excerpt from a December 1881 Article by Elizabeth Buffum Chase in the Labor StandardFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Molly Maguires: Excerpts from an 1894 Article by Cleveland Moffet in McClure's MagazineFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Women in the American Federation of Labor: Excerpt from Writings of Edward O'DonnellFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Women on the Breadlines During the Depression: An Account Published by Meridel Le Sueur in New MassesFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
Nonfiction
- Cesar Chavez: “The Mexican-American and the Church”From Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Communist ManifestoFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Fair Wages: Excerpt from John L. Lewis's The Miners' Fight for American StandardsFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Principles of Scientific Management: Excerpt from Frederick Winslow Taylor's Shop ManagementFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Excerpts from Henry George's Progress and PovertyFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Steel Workers: Excerpt from John Fitch's The Steel WorkersFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Thomas Geoghegan: Excerpt from Which Side Are You On?From Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
Speeches
- Rerum Novarum: Excerpts from Bull Issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1891From Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Social Darwinism: Excerpt from Rev. Henry Ward Beecher's “Bread-and-Water” SermonFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
Contract Examples
- Indentured Servant ContractFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Yellow-Dog ContractFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
"As more and more workers banded together in unions, fearful employers sought a variety of methods to deter organization. One of the most infamous of these was the yellow-dog contract, an agreement in which a worker swore not to join a labor union as a condition of employment." - Yellow-Dog Contract in the Coal IndustryFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
"The “yellow-dog contract” came to be so known because the popular saying was that it was so vile that no decent human being would even require an old yellow dog to sign such an agreement. The yellow-dog contract required workers, as a condition of employment, to agree not to join a union."
Fiction and other works
- “Bread and Roses”: Poem by James OppenheimFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- Edward Bellamy: Excerpts from Looking BackwardFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
"Few novels have had as much impact on society as Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward. Some accounts claim that, among nineteenth-century works of fiction, only Uncle Tom's Cabin and Ben-Hur sold more copies. - “Solidarity Forever”: Ralph Chaplin's American Labor AnthemFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor
- “There Is Power in a Union”: A Song by Joe HillFrom Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor