This iCue Mini-Documentary describes how, even though slavery is abolished after the Civil War, the system of share-cropping quickly emerged that kept blacks in a condition much like slavery.
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes a rebellion against the landed class of Virginia, led by Nathanial Bacon, a poor farmer. It came to be known as Bacon's Rebellion.
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the North and the South's drafts during the Civil War. Since the wealthy could buy their way out of being drafted, class tension erupted into draft riots.
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes "Nativism," or the resentment of foreigners, which revived in the late 19th century as greater numbers of new immigrant groups arrived in America.
This iCue Mini-Documentary introduces the nativism of the 1840s and 1850s—the fear that the flood of Irish and German immigration would result in immigrants out-breeding, out-voting, and out-working native-born Americans.
Bread and Roses Heritage Committee chairman Jim Beauchesne describes the 1912 strike of textile workers in Lawrence, MA, called the Bread and Roses Strike. He examines the demographics of the workers, largely immigrants and women, and their roles in organizing the strike. His presentation includes slides.
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes the social situation in the South prior to the Civil War, in which white society was divided between the wealthy class known as the Planter Aristocracy, and the poor yeoman farmers of the backcountry.
This iCue Mini-Documentary describes how backlash against Chinese Workers in the 1850s led to the Chinese Exclusion Act, perhaps the harshest anti-immigration legislation in American history.
This workshop combines scholarly presentations with on-site investigations of the canals, mills, worker housing, and exhibits of Lowell National Historical Park and of other sites in Lowell's historic district. Sessions draw on scholarly monographs, primary sources (such as "mill girl" letters), and works of literature and historical fiction. The workshop intersperses hands-on activities with lecture-discussions and field investigations. In addition to Lowell's landmark resources, the workshop takes full advantage of Old Sturbridge Village exhibits and scholars to explore pre-industrial rural life and draw on the expertise of scholars and presenters at Walden Pond and Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord, Massachusetts, to explore how prominent authors addressed the question of industrialization's effect on American life, values, and the environment.
The Tsongas Industrial History Center will provide participants a certificate for up to 40 professional development points (CEUs/PDPs) for the face-to-face portion of the workshop and up to 40 additional points if pre/post-workshop assignments are completed, including the submission of a copy of a curriculum portfolio of at least five class periods of instruction. At additional cost, teachers wishing graduate credit may earn up to three graduate credits for the workshop through the UMass Lowell Graduate School of Education.