Progressive Era Labor Struggles

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Progressive Era Labor Struggles

"Bread line outside the Pressed Steel Car plant, McKees Rocks, 1909" Photo from Explore PA History.

Read John Ingham's article on the McKees Rocks strikes in 1909. The article citation is:

Ingham, John N. "A Strike in the Progressive Era: McKees Rocks, 1909." The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 3 (1966): 353-77.

You can find the article through JSTOR, a database of scholarly journals.

1. Go to the Hunter Library website
2. Click on "Databases/Articles"
3. Find "JSTOR" in the alphabetical list
4. If you are not on campus, you must enter your Hunter netID and password to access JSTOR
5. Use the advanced search option to find the article with the citation information above.

Consider the following questions:

What is the author's argument?
What examples does he provide to prove his point?
What are the issues and/or conditions that led to the strikes?
How were the McKees Rocks strikes similar to or different from other strikes?

Course Objectives

This is a broad survey course designed to introduce students to basic themes and events in American History, as well as college-level research and study skills. As this is a writing intensive course, students will develop critical writing skills through online discussion, essay writing and document analysis. We will cover material beginning with the Civil War and Reconstruction and extending through the Presidential election of 2000.

By the end of this course students will have experience evaluating historical materials, constructing and supporting an argument, and performing basic research. Students will also work collaboratively in-class and online to discuss material, analyze primary documents and develop note-taking and study skills.

Accessibility

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“In compliance with the American Disability Act of 1990 (ADA) and with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Hunter College is committed to ensuring educational parity and accommodations for all students with documented disabilities and/or medical conditions. It is recommended that all students with documented disabilities (Emotional, Medical, Physical and/or Learning) consult the Office of AccessABILITY located in Room E1124 to secure necessary academic accommodations. For further information and assistance please call (212-772-4857)/TTY (212-650-3230).” You can also locate them at:

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Course Learning Outcomes

During this course, students will:

• identify and apply the key historical concepts of change-over-time, cause-and-effect, agency, historical empathy, and continuity and discontinuity, and recognize how these concepts are employed in the historical method

• analyze and interpret primary sources with attention to audience, authorship and context

• recognize some of the ways in which historians have conflicting interpretations of the past

• produce a paper with a clear thesis and appropriate citations based on strong evidence drawn from historical sources

• identify and discuss the importance of contact and conquest, colonial foundations, revolution and Constitution, immigration, geographic expansion, experiences of native peoples, role of women, slavery and African American experiences and the sectional crisis leading to the Civil War