The Role of the “Newsies”: New York, Butte, and St. Louis
Pat Nelson, Nell Holcomb Elementary School, Cape Girardeau, Missouri
This learning activity was created for “The Richest Hills: Mining in the Far West, 1865–1920,” sponsored by the Montana Historical Society and funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities Landmarks of American History and Culture: Workshops for Schoolteachers.
Grade Level: 5th Grade
Subject(s): Social Studies/Library Skills
Standards: Missouri Grade Level Expectations:
5 SS 2A Knowledge of continuity and change in the history of Missouri, the United States, and the world.
5 SS 3A Knowledge of principles and processes of governance systems.
5 SS 4A Knowledge of economic concepts (including productivity and the market system) and principles (including the laws of supply and demand).
5 SS 4D Understanding the consequences of personal and public economic decisions.
5 SS 6B Identify how a person becomes a member of a group and what factors influence inclusion or exclusion from a group.
5 SS 7A Using primary and secondary sources.
5 SS 7D Using technological tools.
5 SS 7E Distinguishing between fact and opinion and recognizing bias and points of view.
5 Information Literacy 1 Develop and apply effective research process skills to gather, analyze and evaluate information.
Duration: Two 30 minute weekly classes during library study skills time.
Description
In the documentary Butte, America, which was viewed during our workshop, there was a clip discussing how the young newsboys supported the striking miners in 1914 by also going on strike and refusing to sell newspapers. I found it very intriguing how these youths took it upon themselves to make a real impact in their own way. Every year, as school librarian, I teach a unit on newspapers with my 5th graders. As I researched the role of the “newsies” in history, I learned about how effective their 1899 New York strike was, how this inspired the Montana newsboy’s strike effort years later, and how Lewis Hine’s photographs of child labor affected public opinion and child labor laws. In my home state of Missouri, I think my students would be interested to see Hines’ photographs of St. Louis newsboys and how, even today, the legacy of the St. Louis “newsies” has made a difference in the lives of others. Children DO have a voice, and sometimes a very effective voice! I apologize that my further research led me into other topics away from the mining heritage of Montana, but I was also told to develop a lesson which would be truly useful to my school’s curriculum, and I did. I hope that others may find ways to adapt the idea to their own classroom situations.
Goals:
Students will research the role of newsboys in history and how child labor impacted subsequent events in history.
Objectives:
Students will use historical websites and primary documents within a small group to evaluate information and draw conclusions about the social conditions and historical impact of the “newsies”.
Students will practice note taking skills, photograph analysis skills, and public speaking skills.
Students will be able to relate the history of “newsies” to the development of modern child labor laws and draw conclusions regarding how the past affects their future job situations as teenagers.
Materials
In our school library, I have access to 25 netbook computers so that each student can do individual research during our class time. As an alternative, a teacher could distribute handouts of significant documents or use a Smart Board for a teacher presentation of resources.
Copies of Truman Library photo analysis worksheet
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/educ/photo.pdf
Books: (text selections and historical photographs for student handouts)
Bartoletti, Susan Campbell, Kids on Strike! (Boston, 1999).
Freedman, Russell, Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor (New York,1994).
Websites as listed in the chart below for student research.
Procedure
1. Librarian/teacher will divide class into groups of 4-5 students each. By drawing a topic card out of a box, each group will be assigned items to research about “newsies”. During the second class session, each group will orally present what they learned from their research to the class. Each member of the group must have a part in the oral presentation.
2. Before beginning their research, the librarian/teacher will give students a short “overview” of the history of “newsies”. Above materials will be shown, plus the Walt Disney DVD musical “Newsies” has an excellent 18 minute video useful for background in the “Bonus Material: The Strike! The True Story” part of the disk. The musical itself is appropriate for students, but not worth the use of class time, in my opinion. Another excellent teacher resource for background, including photographs from the 1899 strike is a lesson plan called New York City “Newsies” Strike Against the World and Journal, 1899” available at: http://people.hofstra.edu/alan_j_singer/294%20Course%20Pack/7.%20Workers/120.pdf
Topic Card #1: People to Know
I. Focus Materials: Your choice of search engine, but do not use Wikipedia as a choice for your article! Use also the “Kid Blink” website, and Chapter 2 of Kids on Strike.
II. Think also about the background information you were given in class and answer the following focus questions:
Who was Kid Blink and what was his role in the 1899 Newsboys Strike?
Who were Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst and what was their business relationship?
Find a picture of “Hearst Castle”. How would the newsboys feel about Mr. Hearst’s use of his money?
Topic Card #2: The New York Newsboy Strike of 1899
I. Focus Materials: “Newsies” by Kat Pirnie website and “The Newsboys Strike (1899)” website.
II. Examine the websites and answer the following focus questions:
What was the main issue that caused the strike? Explain both sides of the issue.
How long did the strike last and did the newsboys “win” or “lose”? Explain.
In what way do you think this strike inspired the Butte, Montana newsboy strike in 1914?
Topic Card #3: The Impact of Lewis Hines’ Photographs on Child Labor
I. Focus Materials: Chapter 2 of Kids on Strike, Lewis Hines photos indexed in Kids at Work and Chapter 6, plus the Lewis Hines Gallery website, section on Newsboys.
II. Examine the books and website and answer the following focus questions:
Were there any girl “newsies”? How do we know that?
What was daily life like for a newsie? Explain and show photo examples.
Pick two photographs and analyze them using the worksheet provided.
Topic Card #4: The St. Louis Connection, Father Dunne and Old Newsboys Day
I. Focus Materials: Website for “Old Newsboys Day and Father Dunne” plus website for Joe Manning’s “Lewis Hines Gallery: Newsboys, Newsgirls, and other street trades.”
II. Examine the websites and answer the following focus questions:
Some of Lewis Hines’ famous photographs were of Saint Louis newsies. Locate two photos taken in Saint Louis and show them to the class.
Who was Father Dunne and what did he do to help the newsboys?
How did “Old Newsboys Day” become an annual event and what it its purpose today?
Who was Joe Manning and what project involving newsboys did he undertake? Was he successful? Does the project continue today?
Topic Card #5: Child Labor in America, Then and Now
I. Focus Materials: Website for Department of Labor and website for “Youths Rule!” poster.
II. Using the above websites and your choice of search engine, answer the following focus questions:
What was the Fair Labor Standards Act and how did it affect child labor?
Did we pass an amendment to the constitution dealing with child labor?
According to the poster, are young people allowed to be newsboys today?
Name several reasons that newsboys have become an almost extinct job in modern society.
Assessment
Teacher will grade student note taking and oral presentation based on a rubric scoring sheet. Criteria used will include research effort, note-taking, and teamwork for each group’s oral presentation to the class.
Extension activities
Design a poster/sign to be used during a newsboy strike march. Remember that you need to use a limited amount of words to make the largest impact possible.
If the United States Post Office decided to create a postage stamp to honor the history of the newsboys, what should the stamp look like? Create a sketch of it on a piece of paper.
Find some old photos at your home and try to identify the people in the photos by name, date and location where the photo was taken. How could you find out more information if none is on the back of the photo? Use the photo analysis worksheet on one of your family photos.
If this lesson uses online primary source documents, please complete the following information. This form is adapted from Library of Congress, Teaching with Primary Sources Annotated Resource Set.
Kat Pirnie / New York City “Newsies” Strike Against the World and Journal, 1899 / The Newsboy’s Strike (1899) / Lewis Hine Gallery, Newsboys, Newsgirls, and other street trades
Website for article focusing on Saint Louis newsboys. / Article based on the Walt Disney musical production “Newsies” / Lesson Plan on the 1899 strike with quotations from newspaper articles plus original photographs. Good for teacher overview/introducti-on to the topic. / Website with original photographs, and quotes from striking newsboys in 1899. / Website of Joe Manning’s project to identify newsboys from Lewis Hine’s photographs.
http://stltourguide.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/old-newsboys-day-and-fr-peter-dunne/ / http://clioseye.sfasu.edu/Archives/Student%20Reviews%20Archives/NewsiesChron.htm / http://people.hofstra.edu/alan_j_singer/294%20Course%20Pack/7.%20Workers/120.pdf / h
http://ows.edb.utexas.edu/site/newsboys-strike-1899/site/newsboys.com/uhttp://ows.edb.utexas.edu/site/andirea-joshuas-site/artifactsnitedstates/childlahttp://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/bhttp://ows.edb.utexas.eduhttp://ows.edb.utexas.edu/site/newsboys-strike-1899/site/newsboys-strike-1899or/ / http://www.morningsonmaplestreet.com/hinegallery5.html
United States Dept. of Labor website / “Kid Blink and the Newsboys Strike” / Department of Labor Youth Rules! page
“Youth and Labor” section / Article by Andrew Giddings / Poster of jobs youths are allowed to perform
http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/youthlabor/ / http://www.journoblog.com/2010/09/kid-blink-and-the-newsboys-strike/ / http://youthrules.dol.gov/JYMP_11x17_2.pdf