ESSAY ASSIGNMENT :

 Industrialization and urbanization in the early 20th century

Modern America was built on the industrialization of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  Although this process had tremendous benefits for America as a whole, the benefits were not shared equally by all Americans.  The objective of this assignment is to examine the lives and labours of the working class in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.  In doing so consider factors such as  the composition of the workforce, the conditions of labour, the life experiences of the workers (ie family, living experiences, prejudices, etc.), and differences between industries.

For the essay you must use ALL of the sources below in the writing of the essay  In addition to the sources below, you are required to use at least one book and one scholarly article.

This is to be a 2,500 word essay using proper references and documentation style for a history essay.  Students must consult the History department style guide for the proper format for the essay.  For further information on referencing electronic sources, please consult the additional websites for these points.  You must use the correct reference form for the electronic sources used in your essay.

ALL of the following documents MUST be used in the writing of the essay:

New York Times, March 26, 1911

Sadie Frowne, “Days and Dreams”

Clara Lemlich, “Life in the Shop”

“The Working Girls of Boston” (1884)

Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives, chapter 6, “The Bend”  (In using the hypertext edition of the above source, students must also consult the introduction to the hypertext edition for referencing information.)

The Jungle (1906)

Family Budget (1884)

The Bitter Cry of Children (1906)

ChildLabor.AtlanticMonthly.1880 (Emma Brown, The Atlantic Monthly, November 1880, pp.787-792) pdf.

“The Life of a Coal Miner” (1902)

The Child in the Cotton Mill (1916) pdf.

“A Mule Spinner…” (1885)

All of the above documents connected to the fire have been adapted from the far more extensive The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire site, an excellent site hosted by Cornell University.