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
| Wisconsin Governor Jeremiah Rusk (1830-1893) |
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| The Sheboygan Press covers the strike in Kohler, 1934 |
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| A tariff advocate seeks worker support, 1880 |
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| An overview of Polish immigration through 1896 |
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| Woodworkers strike turns violent in Oshkosh, 1898 |
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| Milwaukee's mayor looks back on the Bay View Riot of 1886 |
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| A Republican Senator defends the Bennett Law and Governor Hoard, 1890 |
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| A Milwaukee worker recalls the labor movement's early years. |
| 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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| A Labor Day souvenir from the 1900 celebration |
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| The many products of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, 1948 |
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| Milwaukee trade unions organize to lobby for workers' rights |
| Photographs of post-war Milwaukee labor activities |
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| Photographs of the Bay View Rolling Mills |
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| Pictures of strikes and lockouts, 1886-1970 |
| 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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| State regulations for women workers, 1920 |
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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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A timeline of Wisconsin labor, 1883 to the present
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