The Birth of the Labor Movement
Wisconsin's workers and reformers made significant contributions to the history of labor in the United States, helping to enact legislation such as workers' compensation and unemployment insurance that served as models for similar laws in other states. The study of labor history itself also began in Wisconsin when University of Wisconsin economist John R. Commons set out to document the history of work and labor in America at the turn of the twentieth century. Commons and his associates also joined labor leaders, the business community, and politicians to bring about some of Wisconsin's groundbreaking social policies. The evolution of Wisconsin's... more...
Original Documents and Other Primary Sources
| A tariff advocate seeks worker support, 1880 |
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| Milwaukee's mayor looks back on the Bay View Riot of 1886 |
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| An overview of Polish immigration through 1896 |
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| A Milwaukee worker recalls the labor movement's early years. |
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| The Sheboygan Press covers the strike in Kohler, 1934 |
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| Woodworkers strike turns violent in Oshkosh, 1898 |
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| Wisconsin Governor Jeremiah Rusk (1830-1893) |
| Milwaukee trade unions organize to lobby for workers' rights |
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| A Labor Day souvenir from the 1900 celebration |
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| Kohler workers strike for Union recognition |
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| The National Labor Relations Board tries to settle the Kohler strike, 1934 |
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| The many products of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, 1948 |
| Pictures of strikes and lockouts, 1886-1970 |
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| Photographs of the Bay View Rolling Mills |
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| Photographs of post-war Milwaukee labor activities |
| Working women describe their daily lives, 1914 |
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| A Progressive Era commission investigates vice, 1914 |
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| A Milwaukee brothel's account book, ca. 1910 |
Primary Sources Available Elsewhere
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| An African American publishes a labor newspaper in La Crosse, 1886-87 |
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| The National Guard's official report on the Bay View Riot of 1886. |
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| Wisconsin Blue Books |
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| Labor and truancy laws for women and children, 1912 |
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| The autobiography of John R. Commons (1934) |
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| Report of the bureau of labor and industrial statistics, 1885-1886 |
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| State regulations for women workers, 1920 |
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A timeline of Wisconsin labor, 1883 to the present
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