Joe Hill

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Photo, Joe Hill, Utah History to Go
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Joe Hill was created as a companion to PBS channel KUED's documentary on the c. 1900 labor movement figure of the same name. Born in Sweden, Joe Hill's life is largely an enigma. Over time, he became involved in the Industrial Workers of the World, and was known as a writer of labor movement songs. Eventually, Hill was tried for murder, resulting in an outcry from sources as varied as the Swedish ambassador to the American Federation of Labor.

This website provides a brief biography of Joe Hill (also known as Joel Hagglund), introductions to major protestors against his sentence, an overview of the impact of his songwriting, audio recordings and lyrics of several of Hill's songs, lengthy sections of the formal appeal against Hill's sentence, and an interview with a lawyer and professor concerning the case and its legal and social context. Low-resolution images of Joe Hill, his cartoons, labor propaganda, and correspondence related to his trial and sentence are located throughout the site. In some cases, transcriptions are available of historical documents.

Joe Hill also contains information on various labor professions in the early 20th century. You can read about mining, immigration, the Scofield Mine Disaster, and more. Included are five interviews with professors and authors who contributed to the documentary film.

A final section on labor today offers readers an opportunity to submit their own labor stories, as well as a list of publications related to the life and death of Joe Hill.

Site navigation is not as intuitive as it could be. The best way to peruse the "Story" section, for example, may be to use the timeline, rather than to move through the pages in the order the "next" arrows would have you do. Using the timeline, however, will link you to sections in both the "Story" and "Legal Battle" section of the site. Expect to use your browser's back button frequently.

Digital Resource Guide for the Labor Archives of Washington State aharmon Fri, 10/21/2011 - 18:02
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Photo, Camp Ferry crew on their way to lunch, 1939, WPA, Uni. of Washington
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The Digital Resource Guide for the Labor Archives of Washington State exists for one purpose—to break down and make accessible the contents of the University of Washington's labor collections. To begin, simply scroll down or select "Topics" from the top navigation bar to view five categories within the collections. From there, make your choice, and find a summary of the collection contents alongside links.

"The I.W.W. in the Pacific Northwest" offers access to ephemera, newspaper clippings, personal accounts, and photographs related to the 1916 Everett Massacre and the 1919 Centralia Massacre; letters and documents concerning opposition to the I.W.W.; and local Wobblie charters, letters, and manuscripts.

"The Seattle General Strike and Its Aftermath" includes photographs and documents from the strike; notes, letters, reports, news clippings, and ephemera related to the Central Labor Council of Seattle in the 1920s and 1930s; documents pertaining to the Seattle Union Record, the CLC's newspaper; documents related to Henry Ault, an editor of the paper; and letters, manuscripts, ephemera, and photographs concerning Anna Louise Strong, advocate of laborer and children's rights.

Look to "Anti-Labor Reactions and Labor Espionage" for photos and documents from the Spruce Production Division and the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen; speeches, articles, and letters by the Associated Industries; and 1919 and 1920 reports from spies within the labor movement.

"Labor and the New Deal" leads to photographs only. Here, you can find more than 450 photographs related to the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, Civil Works Administration, the CCC, and Works Progress Administration workers at the Grand Coulee Dam and elsewhere.

Finally, "Labor in the Modern Era" emphasizes Cesar Chavez and the farmworkers' movement, as well as protests held at the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting. Resources include posters, interviews, fliers, pamphlets, and photographs.

Coal Mining in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era jmccartney Thu, 09/10/2009 - 08:11
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Logo, Coal Mining in the Guilded Age and Progressive Era
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This collection about coal mining in the 19th century consists of 17 separate pages, mostly containing primary source material, produced between 1869 and 1904, about coal mining and mining disasters. Material includes a 600-word essay on the dangers of coal mining, an account of an 1869 cave-in, Stephen Crane's 1894 article, "In the Depths of a Coal Mine," eight photographs of coal miners from 1904, and a 30-page account of labor violence written by a Pinkerton agent in 1894.

A page about mining machinery offers four study questions for student visitors. The site will be useful for those studying 19th-century coal mining and labor issues.

Diary, Correspondence, and Papers of Robert "King" Carter, 1701-1732

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Image, Robert Carter, Diary, Correspondence, and Papers of Robert..., 1701-1732
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A work-in-progress, this collection offers letters and diary entries by Robert "King" Carter (1663–1732), a wealthy landowner and leading public figure in Virginia. Educated in England, Carter inherited and acquired more than 300,000 acres in the Northern Neck Proprietary between the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers. Carter, who owned nearly 1,000 slaves, served as a member of the Council of Virginia and as acting governor of the colony.

The site presently contains transcripts of all existing Robert Carter texts, including approximately 800 letters, written between 1701 and 1727, diary entries covering 1722–1726, and wills. Each document provides both modern and original spellings, and hyperlinked notes offering identifying information for more than 130 persons, places, and things. A 2,200-word biography of Carter, a 2,100-word essay on the Northern Neck Proprietary, and a bibliography of nearly 80 titles are also available.

Documents Relating to American Foreign Policy during the Cuban Missile Crisis

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Photo, John F. Kennedy, 1961
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Vincent Ferrara, Professor of International Politics at Mount Holyoke College, compiled this list of 117 primary source documents relating to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Some of these are links to documents on other sites. Documents include memoranda, telegrams, meeting notes, and audio clips. The site also contains five links to other sites about the crisis and 12 articles written in the last 15 years that discuss the crisis.

The site provides no introduction, no index, and no background on the documents. It is not organized thematically, alphabetically, or chronologically. It will be helpful to those looking for the most important documents of the missile crisis and less so for those who are not already involved in researching the topic.

National Women's History Project

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Logo, National Women's History Project
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Introduces the National Women's History Project, "a non-profit organization dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the diverse and historic accomplishments of women by providing information as well as educational material and programs." Includes a 5,000-word essay on the history of the women's rights movement and a 7,000-word timeline. The site gives detailed information about the organization's activities, including efforts to bring women's history into public life, a list of curricular ideas for teachers, material concerning National Women's History Month, and a 15-question quiz on Women's History.

Perhaps most valuable, the site furnishes approximately 200 partially annotated links, arranged into 12 broad categories such as "Politics," "World History," and "Math and Science." Though lacking in primary source material, this site provides useful beginning resources for the study and practice of women's history.

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, 1992-2001

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Photo, Bush paying respects to Reagan, June 11 2004, Public Papers of the...
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Digitized versions of 20 volumes of Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, spanning from 1992 to 2004, are presented on this website.

Materials include papers and speeches issued by the Office of the Press Secretary during the terms of William J. Clinton (17 volumes, 1993–2001), in addition to two volumes pertaining to George H. W. Bush for 1992, and four volumes for George W. Bush (January 20–June 30, 2004). The documents, including addresses, statements, letters, and interviews with the press, are compiled by the Office of the Federal Register and published in chronological order.

Also included are appendices with daily schedules and meetings, nominations to the Senate, proclamations, executive orders, and photographic portfolios. Users may access multiple volumes by keyword searches and separate volumes by title of document, type, subject matter, and personal names.

Eugenics Archive

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Image for Eugenics Archive
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The history of the eugenics movement in the United States, from its inception in the decades following the Civil War through its height in the first few decades of the 20th century, is traced on this website. As we move into the age of genetics, this movement, that sought to filter "bad" traits from the human population, becomes increasingly important to understand.

The movement's history is told through a narrative divided into eight themes, including social and scientific origins, research methods and traits studied, flaws in these methods, ways in which the movement was popularized, immigration restriction, and marriage and sterilization laws. Each narrative is accompanied by roughly 10 primary sources—reports, articles, charts, legal documents, and photographs. These materials provide a succinct introduction to eugenics in the U.S.

In addition to the narratives, visitors can search or browse the Image Archive, featuring more than 2,000 primary sources, including documents, artwork, photographs, and more. Visitors may browse by topic, object type, time period, or the archive sources' originals are held by, or search by keyword or ID number. Note that primary sources cannot be downloaded from the Flash version of the Archive, though they can be from the HTML version of the site.

Documents from the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention

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Image, "The. . . Colonies Declared. . . ," William Hamilton, 1783, LoC
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These 274 sources focus on the work of the Continental Congress and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution, including manuscript annotations. The collection includes extracts of the journals of Congress, resolutions, proclamations, committee reports, and treaties. In addition, there are documents relating to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, extracts of proceedings of state assemblies and conventions relating to the ratification of the Constitution, several essays on the ratification of the Constitution, and early printed versions of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

There are 253 titles dating from 1774 to 1788 relating to the Constitutional Congress and 21 dating from 1786 to 1789 relating to the Constitutional Convention. Two timelines cover the period 1764 to 1789 and an essay entitled "To Form a More Perfect Union" provides historical context for the documents through an overview of the main events of the era of the Revolution.

Coming of the American Revolution, 1764-1776

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Detail, The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal, Number 779
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A well-designed introduction to the major political events in Massachusetts that preceded and coincided with the beginning of the American Revolution. This website provides a series of 15 essays on the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Sons of Liberty, the Townshend Acts, boycotts, the Boston Massacre, the Committees of Correspondence, the Tea Party, the Coercive Acts, the First Continental Congress, Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress, the Battle of Bunker Hill, George Washington, and the Declaration of Independence.

Each of these essays is keyed to a selection of the site's more than 150 primary documents—letters, newspaper articles, government acts, broadsides and more—that are available in high-resolution scanned versions on the site. The essay on the Declaration of Independence, for example, links to images of the various drafts of the document, as well as letters between John and Abigail Adams exalting over the Declaration.

The website also has brief biographies of the political actors in the historical drama that was unfolding. In addition, the website has a section that approaches the same material with lesson plans and curriculum objectives appropriate for the use of American history teachers. A short orientation for students is also included.