Rogers Park / West Ridge Historical Society [IL]

Description

The Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society is dedicated to preserving and showcasing the history of the western section of Chicago, Illinois. In addition to actively aiding and encouraging preservation, the society owns and operates a small museum that showcases the history of the Rogers Park area.

The society offers exhibits. The website offers information regarding upcoming events, visitor information, and a brief history of the area.

Society of Architectural Historians [IL]

Description

"The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) is an international not-for-profit membership organization that promotes the study and preservation of the built environment worldwide." SAH publishes several works, including a series of guidebooks, a newsletter, and a journal. In addition, SAH offers more than 40 fellowships annually, with topics ranging from research to preservation.

The site offers general information about the society, an events calendar, an online store with all works published by the society, membership information, and information regarding the SAHARA archive.

Ridge Historical Society [IL]

Description

The Ridge Historical Society is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1971 in order to preserve and promote the history of the Chicago neighborhoods of Beverly Hills, Morgan Park, and Washington Heights. The Ridge Historic District is one of the largest urban districts on the National Register of Historic Places. The Society is especially focused on preserving the architectural history of the area along with personal history of area residents.

The site offers historical information in the form of feature stories that explore one area of history in depth. In addition, the site offers information about upcoming and past events, as well as general information about the Society.

United We Stand: Industry and Famous Strikes Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 08/10/2009 - 10:08
Quiz Webform ID
22410
date_published
Teaser

Stand up (or sit down) for better working conditions! Test your knowledge of strikes in U.S. history.

quiz_instructions

As the work of another school year begins, Labor Day reminds us to honor the nation's workers. Since the rise of industry, workers have used strikes and other forms of protest to demand change and recognition. Select the correct answer for each of the labor-related questions below.

Quiz Answer



1. What U.S. census data does this map portray?

a. The 1930 relative concentration of "totally unemployed persons registered" in each state.
b. The 1870 relative amount of "total capital invested (in dollars) in manufacturing" in each state.
c. The 1920 relative concentration of "manufacturing establishments" in each state.
d. The 1950 relative concentration of "employed females" in each state.

By 1920, industry had established itself as a fixture of the American economy and way of life, though its hubs remained in the Mid-Atlantic. New York continued to be a center of industry, and Illinois, with the continuing rise of Chicago as an urban industrial center, had become one, as well.

2. On May 4, 1886, a peaceful workers' rally in Chicago's Haymarket Square ended in death and confusion when a dynamite bomb was thrown into a line of approaching police officers. The Haymarket Affair received nationwide media attention and the trials of the alleged guilty parties went all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. Four of the accused were hung and a fifth committed suicide.

What reform was the rally supporting?

a. The removal of hazardous parts-manufacturing machinery from a McCormick Harvesting Machine Company plant.
b. The passing of a minimum-wage law in the state of Illinois.
c. The paying of compensation to workers who suffered debilitating injuries from repetitive factory work.
d. The institution of the eight-hour workday.

The speakers at the Haymarket Affair supported strikers who had engaged in a May 1 nationwide walkout to support an eight-hour workday. On May 3, the first workday after the walkout, police killed two workers outside a McCormick plant during a confrontation between scabs (temporary workers hired to replace strikers) and strikers. This event provided an impetus for the Haymarket rally.

3. On February 6, 1919, more than 60,000 Seattle workers refused to work, marking the high point of a series of strikes and unrest that started in January 1919. The first labor action to effectively shut down an entire city, this strike hoped to secure what result?

a. The reinstatement of workers ousted by returning soldiers.
b. A pay raise for the city's shipyard workers.
c. The cessation of all U.S. hostilities against the Bolshevik Red Army in Russia and of any support for forces opposing the Red Army.
d. A stop to the installation of new machinery that would reduce the work force necessary in the shipyards.

During World War I, the government imposed wage controls, keeping the wages of Seattle shipyard workers down even as the shipyards expanded through war production contracts. Following the war, the workers expected a raise in their wages; when denied, approximately 25,000 members of the Metal Trades Council union alliance went on strike. A general citywide strike followed, with about 35,000 other workers striking in support of the shipyard protest. The strike officially ended on February 11—though not before touching off a widespread "Red Scare."

4. On December 30, 1936, the workers at Flint, Michigan's General Motors automobile plant began a six-week long strike to press for better working conditions. Organized by the United Auto Workers, the strike used what relatively unusual technique to make its point?

a. Strikers not only stopped working during the strike, but left town entirely, taking their families with them.
b. Strikers remained entirely silent during the strike.
c. Strikers, instead of picketing outside of the factory, occupied the factory, preventing upper management and law enforcement from entering.
d. Strikers sabotaged the factory's power supply, re-sabotaging it whenever plant management repaired it.

Known as the Flint Sit-down Strike, this strike used techniques later adapted by the civil rights movement. On December 30, workers sat down at their places and refused to leave the factory for six weeks. Provided food and supplies by supporters, the workers repelled attempts by the police to drive them out and even initiated the surprise takeover of another plant in the last two weeks of the strike.

For more information

Labourday_answer_thumbnail.jpg The map of the 1920 concentration of manufacturing establishments was generated by the University of Virginia Library's Historical Census Browser. The browser provides searchable census data for 1790 through 1960, with the option to visualize any data selections in maps such as the one above; all of the categories mentioned in Question One are categories available on the website. For Teachinghistory.org's review of the Historical Census Browser, go here.

Teachinghistory.org's reviews the Library of Congress's American Memory collection Chicago Anarchists on Trial: Evidence from the Haymarket Affair, 1886-1887 here.

The Seattle General Strike Project looks at the 1919 general strike through primary sources, including photographs, video clips, newspaper articles, and oral histories. The website is part of the University of Washington's larger Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, collecting primary sources on civil rights and labor movements throughout the city's history. NHEC reviews the Project here.

Historical Voices provides a website on the Flint Sit-down Strike: Remembering the Flint Sit-down Strike: 1936-1937. The website provides close to 100 oral history interviews with strikers, as well as essays on the events of the strike. NHEC's review of the website can be found here.

Sources
Image
National Eight Hour Law Proclamation, 1870
National Eight Hour Law Proclamation, 1870
thumbnail
Parade banner of Veterans of the Haymarket Riot, 1895
Preview Mode
On

Chicago History Museum: Student Workshop

Description

From the Chicago History Museum website:

"In this workshop, middle- and high-school students play the role of historians. Facilitated by teacher and author of Summers with Lincoln James Percoco, students investigate the meanings and legacies of Abraham Lincoln in public art. Students explore the exhibition 'Abraham Lincoln Transformed,' analyze the monument in the museum's backyard, and work with a local artist to formulate a creative response to the statue."

Phone number
312-642-4600
Target Audience
"Middle- and high-school students"
Start Date
Course Credit
Free
Duration
Two and a half hours

Jane Addams and Hull House

Description

This iCue Mini-Documentary introduces Jane Addams, a wealthy woman who was a pioneer of social reform. She lived and worked in Hull House, a settlement house that assisted poor immigrants with child care and English lessons.

This feature is no longer available.

The Pullman Strike Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/16/2008 - 18:38
Description

This iCue Mini-Documentary introduces the Pullman Strike. Many railroad workers nationwide joined the Pullman railroad workers in protest, but the strike soon turned violent.

This feature is no longer available.

Hull-House Neighborhoods

Description

Participants in this workshop will learn about the 1890s immigration experience on the Near West Side of Chicago through compelling historical fiction narratives and visits to Hull-House and the Taylor Street and Prairie Avenue neighborhoods. Based on the Museum's collection, these stories form the core of the Great Chicago Stories website, an award-winning educational resource.

Sponsoring Organization
Chicago History Museum
Phone number
312-642-4600
Target Audience
Middle and high school
Start Date
Cost
$35
Course Credit
Participants can earn 4 CPDUs.
Duration
Four hours

Union Stock Yard and Maxwell Street

Description

Participants in this workshop will learn about Chicago's meatpacking history and the legacy of the Maxwell Street Market through compelling historical fiction narratives and by visiting the site of the Union Stock Yard, learning about the Back of the Yards neighborhood, and seeing the original location of the Maxwell Street Market. Based on the Museum's collection, these stories form the core of the Great Chicago Stories website, an award-winning educational resource.

Sponsoring Organization
Chicago History Museum
Phone number
312-642-4600
Target Audience
Elementary school
Start Date
Cost
$35
Course Credit
Participants can earn 4 CPDUs.
Duration
Four hours

Angelo's Saturdays: Immigration, Progressivism, and Hull-House

Description

Participants in this workshop will learn about the 1890s immigration experience on the Near West Side of Chicago through compelling historical fiction narratives. Based on the Museum's collection, these stories form the core of the Great Chicago Stories website, an award-winning educational resource.

Sponsoring Organization
Chicago History Museum
Phone number
312-642-4600
Target Audience
Middle and high school
Start Date
Cost
$20
Course Credit
Participants can earn 3 CPDUs.
Duration
Three hours