The following is information about the NH Mill Girls Labor History Curriculum available through the

AFL-CIO

New Hampshire Mill Girls and the Ten Hour Struggle:

Labor History Curriculum with Historical and Contemporary Readings

New Hampshire AFL-CIO
School-to-Work Labor Outreach Program
Mark S. MacKenzie, President
Prepared by Judy Elliott

September 1999

INTRODUCTION

New Hampshire has a rich labor history. From the beginning, workers have fought for fair wages, good working conditions, and respect on the job. Unfortunately, most students have insufficient opportunity to learn about this history. This curriculum is one example of how New Hampshire 's labor history can be brought to the high school classroom.

The curriculum links an important chapter of New Hampshire 's labor history - the nineteenth century mill girls' struggle for a ten hour work day - to contemporary topics such as teen jobs, labor law, methods of achieving social change, the evolution of New Hampshire 's economy, the hours of work, and Third World workers. The curriculum plan contains four separate segments, which can be used as stand-alone units or in combination. It includes readings drawn from historical and contemporary materials.

The complete story of New Hampshire 's workers has not yet been told. Despite efforts of a number of historians and educators, our labor history is under-researched. Many primary source materials lie unexamined in dusty attics and archives. For teachers desiring further opportunities to investigate this topic, we suggest consulting the secondary materials listed in our bibliography or participating in efforts to explore the many primary materials scattered around the state.

We hope that learning about the historic struggles of New Hampshire workers will help students respond to the issues they confront today.

You can order the entire curriculum from the NH AFL-CIO, 110 Sheep Davis Rd , Pembroke NH 03275 . Please include $ 3.50 for each copy ordered to cover postage costs. NH AFL-CIO may be reached by phone at 224-4789.

TEACHERS' OVERVIEW

New Hampshire Mill Girls and the Ten Hour Struggle:

Labor History Curriculum with Historical and Contemporary Readings

TOPICS

1. New Hampshire mill girls' struggle for the ten hour day in the 1840s
2. The struggle for a shorter work day in New Hampshire labor history
3. Components of a good job
4. Part-time work of high school students today
5. Contemporary labor law, including youth labor law
6. Third World sweatshops in the modern world
7. Strategies for social action

(This curriculum plan contains four separate segments. The segments can be used as stand-alone units, or in combination.)

ACTIVITIES

1. Class discussion, reading, and written work based on historical and contemporary materials
2. Survey research
3. Analysis of tabular data
4. Use of computer spreadsheets and graphing software
5. Songs
6. Suggestions for speakers and videos

READING MATERIALS

This curriculum draws on an extensive assortment of historical and contemporary materials. Some of the grammar and punctuation have been updated in the historical materials. References to additional resources are provided.  

LINKS TO CURRICULUM STANDARDS

New Hampshire History Curriculum Focus Questions

IV. (Politics), V. (Technology), VI. (Non-governmental groups), VII. (Material wants and needs), and VIII. (Self-expression)

New Hampshire Social Studies Curriculum Standards

7.6.1, 16.6.9, 16.6.10, 16.10.3, 17.6.5, 17.10.6, 17.10.9, 17.12.1, 17.12.

DETAILED CONTENTS

AND INSTRUCTIONAL OUTCOMES

PART I: EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS FOR YOUNG NEW HAMPSHIRE WORKERS: TODAY AND IN THE 1840s

I-A. New Hampshire Today: The Youth Labor Law

I-B. Hours of Work for New Hampshire's Mill Girls

I-C. Student Survey: Part-Time Jobs

1. Students will be able to explain current federal and state laws regarding maximum working hours for young workers.
2. They will be able to describe the hours of labor and other working conditions for young women in textile mills in New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the 1840s, and the impact on educational opportunities.
3. Students will be able to design and administer a survey questionnaire on contemporary working conditions for young workers. They will be able to analyze and report survey results.
4. Students will be able to analyze opportunities and problems related to youth employment.

PART II: NEW HAMPSHIRE MOVEMENTS TO SHORTEN THE WORK DAY

II-A. What Makes A Good Job?

II-B. The Mill Girls and Their Struggle for a Ten Hour Day

II-C. The Ten Hour Movement in New Hampshire

II-D. The Struggle for a Shorter Work Day Continues

II-E. The Eight Hour Day at Last (Or Not?)

II-F. Strategies for Achieving Social Change

1. Students will be able to analyze negative and positive components of various jobs available in the 1990s.
2. They will be able to explain the basic requirement under current federal law regarding time-and-a-half pay for overtime, do simple calculations of overtime pay, and understand what agencies enforce the labor law.
3. They will be able to describe problems of young women working in textile mills in New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the 1840s.
4. They will be able to describe various strategies used by young women in the 1840s, as well as workers who came after, to shorten the length of the work day.
5. They will be able to explain contemporary trends in working hours.
6. They will be able to describe and compare different methods of bringing about social change.

PART III: NEW HAMPSHIRE'S CHANGING ECONOMIC STRUCTURE

1. Students will be able to describe changes in New Hampshire industrial production since the nineteenth century.
2. They will be able to analyze tabular data to track trends over time.
3. They will be able to describe positive and negative impacts of recent changes in the New Hampshire economy.
4. They will identify other countries that now produce goods that were formerly produced in New Hampshire.

PART IV: NEW HAMPSHIRE LOOKS AT THIRD WORLD WORKERS

1. Students will be able to describe contemporary working conditions of young Third World laborers.
2. They will be able to compare and contrast contemporary Third World workers with New Hampshire mill girls of the 1840s.
3. They will be able to evaluate methods that U.S. students can use to help end child labor worldwide.

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS

1. Glossary
2. New Hampshire Labor History Timeline
3. " New Hampshire Labor History: A Bibliography," by Dexter Arnold
4. New Hampshire Labor History Society
5. "Sara G. Bagley: A Biographical Note," by Helena Wright