Armed With Just a Badge, Los Angeles’ First Policewoman Protected the City’s Most Vulnerable in the Early 20th Century
Appointed in 1910, Alice Stebbins Wells patrolled dance halls, skating rinks, penny arcades and movie theaters, keeping these public spaces free of vice and immorality
How Alice Hamilton Waged a One-Woman Campaign to Get the Lead Out of Everything
At first a crusader for workplace safety, the trained physician railed against the use of the toxic and ubiquitous material
How the Nation’s First ‘Madam Secretary’ Fought to Save Jewish Refugees Fleeing From Nazi Germany
A new book spotlights Frances Perkins’ efforts to challenge the United States’ restrictive immigration policies as President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s secretary of labor
The Roots of U.S. Work Culture—and Why the American Dream Is So Difficult to Achieve Today
A new book examines the evolution of the American workplace, interrogating the idea that hard work is enough to ensure success
The Golden Gate Bridge Was a Dream That Turned Into a Depression-Era Nightmare for the 11 Men Who Died During Its Construction
The building of the iconic “industry orange” landmark began on this day in 1933
Untold Stories of American History
Eight Secret Societies You Probably Haven’t Heard Of
Many of these selective clubs peaked in popularity in the 18th and 19th centuries
New Memorial Honors Victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
A total of 146 workers died in the 1911 disaster, which galvanized the fight for workers’ rights
Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries
15 Scenes of Americans at Work
These highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest commemorate Labor Day
The Photographer Who Forced the U.S. to Confront Its Child Labor Problem
Lewis Hine’s early 20th-century “photo stories” sparked meaningful legislative reform
Mina Miller Edison Was Much More Than the Wife of the ‘Wizard of Menlo Park’
The second wife of Thomas Edison, she viewed domestic labor as a science, calling herself a “home executive”
Why ‘Sí, Se Puede’ Was the Winning Motto for the United Farm Workers
Their nationwide boycott helped farmworkers win the right to join and form unions
How World War II Helped Forge the Modern FBI
Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, J. Edgar Hoover consolidated immense power—and created the beginnings of the surveillance state
The Father-Daughter Team Who Reformed America
Meet the duo who helped achieve the most important labor and civil rights victories of their age
Abigail Disney Criticizes Labor Practices at the Company Her Family Founded
Her new documentary, “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales,” shines a light on income inequality and workers’ rights
The Little-Known Story of the Women Who Stood Up to General Motors and Demanded Equal Pay
In the 1930s, Florence St. John and her co-workers at an automotive plant won a hard-fought victory for fairness
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
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