Today in History–June 25–the Library of Congress features Rosalind P. Walter (née Palmer), later known as Rosie the Riveter, who was born on this day in 1924. Rosalind began working as a riveter on Corsair fighter planes at the Vought Aircraft Company in Stratford, Connecticut at age 19 . After a newspaper article featuring her work was published, songwriters Redd…
Zoom into this 1888 presidential election document online or in a .pdf document. Look closely at the graphical elements of the complete document and compare and contrast the presentation of information in the Harrison and Cleveland maps. Which is more pleasing visually and why? How does the visual presentation affect the tone of each map? Describe…
Zoom into this 1997 map online or this .pdf document. What do you learn just from looking at the title and the information presented outside of the country labels (ignore the orange leaves for now)? Look at the country labels (orange leaves). Which countries have the most female landowners? Use the information provided in this map to…
Do some research on the Primary Source Nexus to find out who Wilson was. If you don’t know what a Pharaoh is, do some research outside of the Primary Source Nexus to find out. Why do you think this political cartoon might have compared Wilson to a Pharaoh? Look up the definition of a tariff….
Imagine you are from another planet and have been charged with reporting back to your commander on this country called Kenya on the continent of Africa. Zoom into this composite map and investigate the information presented. Create an outline of your findings. Compare the information in this composite map with one of the maps linked to below, noting similarities…
Read the headline and the four lines of text just under the headline. Then look at the footer text at the bottom of this page. Who do you think was the audience for this broadside? Explain the reasoning behind your conclusion. (Hint: If you need help answering this, there is one particular word that you should…
What is the setting of this political cartoon? What details in the source support your conclusion? How is the consumer depicted in this cartoon? How do the coal strikers compare to the trusts? What details in the source support your conclusions? Gov. Osborn is literally jumping on the “Taft bandwagon” in the cartoon. What does this…
Labor lessons & activities Timelines & primary source analysis activities Teaching with the Library blog posts Child labor lesson plans Child Labor: Library of Congress blog posts Primary source collections
Have students use the primary sources in this set to tell a story about the period 1876-1900 when industrial growth helped transform the United States, producing a new class of wealthy industrialists, a prosperous middle class, and a vastly expanded working class comprised of millions of migrants from rural areas and new immigrants from overseas. The…
Today in History–December 23–the Library of Congress features the Federal Reserve System, created on this day in 1913 when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Owen-Glass Act. The system, designed to formulate U.S. monetary policy, began operating in November, 1914. Learn more by reviewing the Today in History section, then click the links below to access more related primary sources. Federal…
Today in History–December 20–the Library of Congress features the first American cotton mill, opened on this day in 1790. Learn more about the history of cotton mills in America by reviewing the Today in History section, then click the links below for related primary sources. The First American Cotton Mill Began Operation from America’s Library Cotton mill image set…
Today in History–October 18–the Library of Congress features Puerto Rico. On this date in 1898, American troops fighting in the Spanish-American War raised the United States flag in Puerto Rico formalizing U.S. control of this former Spanish colony. Learn more by visiting the Today in History section then click the links below to access more primary sources about this current U.S. commonwealth. Puerto Rico during the…