Labor History
How Iceland's Herring Girls Helped Bring Equality to the Island Nation
Between the 1910s and 1960s, thousands of young women formed the backbone of the country's thriving fishing industry
Artifacts Used by Chinese Transcontinental Railroad Workers Found in Utah
Researchers discovered the remains of a mid-19th century house, a centuries-old Chinese coin and other traces of the short-lived town of Terrace
These Free Online Resources Tell the Story of 9/11 and Its Aftermath
Browse 12 archives, databases and portals that help users deepen their understanding of the attacks
What Made the Battle of Blair Mountain the Largest Labor Uprising in American History
Its legacy lives on today in the struggles faced by modern miners seeking workers' rights
How the Automobile Changed the World, for Better or Worse
New MoMA exhibition explores artists' responses to the beauty, brutality and environmental devastation of cars and car culture
Why a California School's Potential Sale of Diego Rivera Mural Is So Controversial
Local officials are seeking landmark designation for the 1931 artwork, likely blocking the San Francisco Art Institute's plan
Long Heralded as an Abolitionist, Johns Hopkins Enslaved People, Records Show
The Baltimore university that bears his name announced new research that "shattered" perceptions of the Quaker entrepreneur
In Puerto Rico, Women Won the Vote in a Bittersweet Game of Colonial Politics
Puertorriqueñas' fight for suffrage shaped by class, colonialism and racism—but even today, island residents cannot vote for president
Covid-19's Impact on Working Women Is an Unprecedented Disaster
In September, 865,000 women left the workforce, with effects playing out differently for those of different races and classes
20th-Century Slavery in a California Sweatshop Was Hiding in Plain Sight
The El Monte sweatshop case exposed a web of corruption—and the enslavement of more than 70 Los Angeles-area garment workers
The Coal Strike That Defined Theodore Roosevelt's Presidency
To put an end to the standoff, the future progressive champion sought the help of a titan of business: J.P. Morgan
The 'Hard Hat Riot' of 1970 Pitted Construction Workers Against Anti-War Protesters
The Kent State shootings further widened the chasm among a citizenry divided over the Vietnam War
Fifty Years Ago, the Murder of Jock Yablonski Shocked the Labor Movement
The conspiracy to kill the United Mine Workers official went all the way to the top of his own union
Separating Truth From Myth in the So-Called ‘Golden Age’ of the Detroit Auto Industry
The post-war era’s labor unrest and market instability has seemingly been forgotten in the public’s memory
The Transcontinental Railroad Wouldn't Have Been Built Without the Hard Work of Chinese Laborers
A new exhibit at the National Museum of American History details this underexamined history
The Last of the Great American Hobos
Hop a train to Iowa, where proud vagabonds gather every summer to crown the new king and queen of the rails
How a 1897 Massacre of Pennsylvania Coal Miners Morphed From a Galvanizing Crisis to Forgotten History
The death of 19 immigrants may have unified the labor movement, but powerful interests left their fates unrecognized until decades later
The Rise and Fall of the Sleeping Car King
George Pullman’s unbending business acumen made him a mogul, but also inspired the greatest labor uprising of the 19th century
Why the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Makes for a Complicated History
Charged with manslaughter, the owners were acquitted in December 1911. A Smithsonian curator reexamines the labor and business practices of the era
Guatemalan Immigrant Luisa Moreno Was Expelled From the U.S. for Her Groundbreaking Labor Activism
The little-known story of an early champion of workers’ rights receives new recognition
