Lewis Hine’s photographs

Lewis Hine took photographs for the National Child Labor Committee from 1908-1918, documenting conditions for working children in factories, fields, mines, etc in order to bring awareness of the harsh daily environments for these kids.

Mail Online has compiled several of the images into an article here.

For more information on this era check out our:

US History PowerPoints

• Rise of Industrial America, 1865-1900
• Response to Industrialism: Protest Movements, Unions, and the Agrarian Revolt
• America Becomes a World Power: Imperialism
• Immigration & Urbanization
• The Progressive Era

Classroom History games

• Critical Decisions of Theodore Roosevelt
• Critical Decisions of Woodrow Wilson
• Steel Empire Game
• Famous Inventors Game
• American Immigration Game
• Chisholm Trail Game

Child Labor Political Cartoon Lesson

In honor of Labor Day weekend, we thought we’d post a lesson on child labor.

When designing a unit, it is important to determine the final product. We love to give students the choice of a political cartoon since it forces them to analyze symbols and dig deeper in order to fully represent the concepts at hand.

The cartoon we’ve included for today’s lesson is a prime example of expressing several deep concepts within one picture.

For more resources on child labor throughout US history, check out some of our PowerPoints:

• Rise of Industrial America, 1865-1900
• Response to Industrialism: Protest Movements, Unions, and the Agrarian Revolt
• America Becomes a World Power: Imperialism
• Immigration & Urbanization
• The Progressive Era

Lewis Hine photos

Lewis Hine traveled the US between 1908 and 1924 to document the plight of working children.

The National Child Labor Committee, a lobbying organization for whom Hine worked, helped compile detailed information that in part led to stricter labor laws for youngsters.

We have added several of the pictures that show children as young as 3 working in berry fields to a document that can be used in several ways in the classroom.

For more information on this period in history, check our our Progressive Era PowerPoint and classroom games Critical Decisions of Theodore Roosevelt and Critical Decisions of Woodrow Wilson.

Income Tax & 16th Amendment

The history of the income tax in the US dates back to the Civil War in 1861.

Interestingly the 16th amendment was proposed by conservatives opponents who believed that three-quarters of state legislatures would never approve it. Boy were they surprised!

We have included a very short background information essay as well as the transcript to the 16th amendment with questions and answers.

For more resources on teaching the Progressive Era:

US History PowerPoint: The Progressive Era

Simulation games:

• Critical Decisions of Theodore Roosevelt
• Critical Decisions of Woodrow Wilson

Government PowerPoints:

• The Judiciary
• The Presidency
• The Congress
• The Bureaucracy
• “New! Constitutional Underpinnings

1912 Presidential Election Cartoons

The 1912 presidential election was fascinating because of a dynamic third party campaign and also was the only time in history two presidents ran against each other and both lost!

We have included two cartoons from the era along with questions and answers.

For more on this era check out our Imperialism, Progressive Era and World War I PowerPoints.