National History Day

Looking for an interesting National History Day project ? Something a little different from what others might be doing?

How about a question that connects RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES with the history of work & working people?

Labor Focused Research Questions

Below each question is an example of how that question could be narrowed to a researchable topic.

  1. What rights and responsibilities did [specific group of workers] claim they should have, and how did they try to gain or exercise those rights and responsibilities?
  • Example: What rights and responsibilities did auto workers at General Motors during the sit-down strike of 1936-1937 claim they should have, and how did they try to gain or exercise those rights and responsibilities?

2. In what ways did [specific group of workers] and [specific employer/industry] notions of workplace rights and responsibilities differ?

  • Example: In what ways did Lilly Ledbetter’s and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company’s notions of workplace rights and responsibilities differ? (Ledbetter sued the company for gender discrimination in 1999)

3. How did [federal, state, or local government] actions, laws, or judicial decisions affect [specific group of workers] rights and responsibilities? How did they affect [specific group of employers] rights and responsibilities?

  • Example: How did the federal Bracero Program affect the rights and responsibilities of braceros and their American employers during the 1940s-50s?

4. How did [specific group of workers] rights and responsibilities change (or stay the same) over time?

  • Example: How did the rights and responsibilities of Mexican agricultural workers change (or stay the same) after NAFTA was enacted in 1994?

5. In what ways have civil rights movements [specific race-; gender-; disability-rights movement or action] been about workplace rights and responsibilities?

  • Example: In what ways was the Black freedom struggle in the 1950s-1960s about workers’ rights and responsibilities?

Narrow the question to a researchable project by inserting a specific time period, event &/or group of workers and employers in the brackets. 

  • A time period might be a week(s), month(s), or year(s)
  • An event might be a strike, a labor contract negotiation, a court case, a campaign to pass a law
  • A group of workers might be defined by one or more of the following
    • a particular city or workplace
    • a particular skill or occupation
    • personal characteristics (gender, age, free or unfree labor, race or ethnicity, ability)
  • Search newspapers and labor presses, history books, articles or exhibits, or ask local union leaders to identify a nearby or lesser-known labor dispute, law, workplace, or worker(s) or employer(s)

PRIMARY SOURCES: A Partial Bibliography

  • Newspapers, including Labor Newspapers. Today, local and national newspapers cover work and working people sporadically. Newspapers focused on the interests and activities of working people were widespread in the late 19th century through the mid-20th century; a few are still published in the 21st century.  They carry stories about local and national events, labor leaders, politics, court cases, strikes, and more that could be the subject of a case study exploring one of the questions above. Stories in labor presses frequently offer different perspectives on events covered in non-labor newspapers. Some labor presses have been digitized: