Today in History: Reformer Grace Abbott & Child Labor

Today in History–November 17–the Library of Congress features reformer Grace Abbott, born on this day in 1878. Abbott gained recognition as an advocate for immigrants while working at the Hull House in Chicago and later fought to restrict child labor as the head of the U.S. Department of Labor Children’s Bureau. Learn more about this tireless activist by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links below to access more primary sources and resources related to Abbott and child labor.

Grace Abbott resources

• Grace Abbott image set
• Grace Abbott historical newspaper coverage
• Reformer Grace Abbott Was Born from America’s Library

Child labor primary sources

• National Child Labor Committee Photograph Collection
• Selected images from the National Child Labor Committee Collection
• “What about that child labor law?” New-York Tribune 22 Sept. 1918
• Front-page historical newspaper coverage of child labor
• Child labor books & articles
• Children’s Bureau books
• Lewis Hine & the Child Labor Committee (American Treasures)

Global Legal Monitor: Topics Child labor

Child labor lessons & activities

• Child Labor in America
• Child Labor in the Early 1900s
• Child Labor and the Building of America
• Learning from the Source: Pairing Pictures & Poems to Tell Stories
• Congress and Child Labor KidCitizen
• Disabled Newsies
• Analyzing Photographs: Child Labor from a Child’s Perspective
• “Canned Childhood”: Encouraging Student Understanding of Progressive Era Issues and Reform Strategies Through a Poem Related to Child Labor
• Informational Text: Child Labor Reform Panels and Multimedia in the Early 20th Century 
• Primary Source Set Connections: Child Labor Across Primary Source Sets and the Library’s Collections

Library blog posts related to child labor

• Child Labor Inside Adams
• Child Labor Photos — What Do Children See? Picture This
• The Faces of Child Labor Picture This November

Related resources

• Primary Source Spotlight: Labor primary source collections
• Primary Source Learning: Labor primary source teaching resources