Women, Children, Labor and the Progressive Era Unit

Women, Children, Labor and the Progressive Era Unit

Nancy Deaton

AHTC 2006 Summer Fellowship

Illinois State Archives, Springfield

High School US History

Annotated List of Materials and Resources

Key to Resources

ISA = Illinois State Archives resource

ALPL = Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library resource

• “The Factory Girls” photo of several girls walking to work. This photo was published in The American Girl in the Stockyards District by Louise Montgomery in 1913. (ALPL)
• “A Work in a Candy Factory” photo of girls working in a candy factory. (ALPL) This photo was published in The American Girl in the Stockyards District by Louise Montgomery in 1913. (ALPL)
• “Office Girls” photo of many girls working in crowded conditions. This photo was published in The American Girl in the Stockyards District by Louise Montgomery in 1913. (ALPL)
• Sweatshop Girl Descriptors—Descriptions provided in the Illinois Bureau of Labor Statistics Report in 1892 report “The Sweating System.” These descriptions are representative of the 1,836 women the Bureau found working in sweatshops (ALPL)
• Factory Inspector’s Report—Report made by Florence Kelly, the Illinois Factory Inspector, to Governor Altgeld in 1895. This report contains detailed information she gathered after visiting and inspecting thousands of factories throughout Illinois in 1894-1895. It provides statistical and descriptive evidence detailing the problems of child labor and tenement house workers. Additionally, it profiles convictions for legal violations and provides recommendations for improvements. (ISA)

Factory Inspector’s Report Sections
p1-2 Introduction
p3-5 Eight Hour workday law and Supreme Court ruling
p6-7 Intro to Child Labor (3 charts)
p8-9 Kids in Stockyards
p9-12 Kids in Sweatshops
p12 Kids in Glass Works Factory
p13 Kids and Accidents
p14-16 Intro to Tenement House Manufacture
p17-19 Health of Workers
p19-20 Risks for Public/Purchaser / Prosecutions Report
p1-2 Intro
p3-4 Record of Convictions
p5-6 Convictions Charts
Inspector’s Report Statistical Table
p1-3 Summary of Cook County
p4-8 Various Cities profiled

• Boy Needs Work Letter—Original and transcription of letter written in 1983 by the owners of Manufacturers of Sewing Machine Furniture and Special Cabinet Work. The owners are asking Governor Altgeld for permission to bend state rules and employ a boy under the age of 14 because his family needs the money. (ISA)
• Reasons for Hiring Women—Chart provided in the Illinois Bureau of Labor Statistics Report in 1906 report “Women working in factories.” Profiles 27 industries, the reasons why they hired women and gives an evaluation of the females’ effectiveness. (ISA)
• Female Working Hours Letter—Letter written to Governor Altgeld by the owners of a cloak factory in 1893 explaining their opposition to a 40 hour work week limit for female workers. (ISA)
• Illinois Progressive Laws (ISA)
• Factories and Workshops—1893 law regulating many aspects of factories
• SB 63 Suffrage—Handwritten official copy and typed version of the 1913 bill that granted women the right to vote in certain elections in Illinois
• Accident Reports—1907 law requiring the reporting and publication of accidents, and providing penalties
• Child Labor—1891 law prohibiting the employment of children under 13 years and requiring certificates to release working children from school
• Dairy and Food—1909 law specifying the requirements for items from milk to cloves to olive oil to be considered pure food and stating penalties
• Meat Inspection—1907 law requiring the inspection and proper disposal of diseased animals and stating penalties for violations
• Women’s Work Hours—1911 law limiting the maximum hours of work for women in factories, laundries and other industries to 10 hour days