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We are adding inquiry-based lessons every week and constantly seeking those that are already out there by others. If you have one to contribute, email us at remedialherstory@gmail.com.
Inquiries are provided in chronological order. Click here for How to Teach with Remedial Herstory Lessons. |
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Industrialization and Imperialism: Women and Labor
Mary Baker Eddy, full-length portrait, standing on balcony of her? home, facing left. , ca. 1903. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/90713045/.
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Why was Mary Baker Eddy so controversial?
Mary Baker Eddy was the first woman in world history to found a sustaining religion, but it was a difficult road. Prominent voices from her time were incredibly critical of her, her own family tried to sue her to get her money. Eddy also had loyal friends and advocates from within her religion and without. In this inquiry students examine primary and secondary sources to determine why MBE and her religion were so controversial. 
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Harris & Ewing, photographer. TARBELL, IDA M. , None. [Between 1905 and 1945] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016859909/.
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Was Tarbell correct about Rockefeller's unjust practices?
Ida Tarbell was one of the world's first investigative journalists, doubbed by Teddy Roosevelt as a "muckraker." Writing for McClure magazine she attempted to expose and take down America's wealthiest man-- John D. Rockefeller. Was she correct?
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Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator. Mokuaikaua Congregational Church, Alli Drive, Kailua, Hawaii County, HI. Hawaii Hawaii County Kailua, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/hi0035/.
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Were missionaries helpful to the native Hawaiians?
American missionaries were in Hawaii long before Hawaii became a US territory or state. These missionaries came over from Puritan New England to uplift and Christianize the Hawaiian natives, but were they helpful? Students will decide using the documents in this historical inquiry.
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Thomson, J, photographer. Group of Chinese women. Shanghai China, None. [Between 1870 and 1872] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2011660127/.
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Why did the US exclude Chinese women?
The Chinese Exclusion Act barred people from immigrating from China and from obtaining US citizenship, but lesser known is the Page Act which preceded this act and prevented women from joining their significant others under the guise of preventing prostitution. This lesson would pair well with the Stanford History Education Groups lesson on the Chinese Exclusion Act (which only features male sources).
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Liliuokalani, Queen of Hawaii, full-length portrait, seated, outdoors, with dog, facing slightly left. , ca. 1917. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/92513983/.
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Was the overthrow of Liliuokalani justified?
Queen Liliuokalani was the last of the Hawaiian monarchs, stripped of her power and inheritance by conspirators and US annexation. In its time, and remaining today, US annexation was controversial. In this inquiry, students will explore primary and secondary sources related to Hawaii's annexation to more deeply understand the issue. Queen Liliuokalani's Autobiography
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New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]), 26 March 1911. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
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What role should the government play in the relationship between owners and Triangle workers?
This is a double inquiry building to this much larger question. Students will examine primary source material on the Triangle strike and consider the role that socialism played in the effectiveness of the strike. Then, students will look at primary and secondary materials on the trial that followed the Triangle Fire and determine whether the owners deserved manslaughter charges. There are so many primary materials out there on this fire! This lesson could easily be extended and serve as only a launching point from which students research the nuances of this tragedy!
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Lessons from Others
- Unladylike: Learn about the pioneering industrial engineer and psychologist, Lillian Moller Gilbreth, in this digital short from Unladylike2020. Using video, vocabulary and discussion questions, students learn about how her innovations improved American’s lives in both factories and the home.
- Unladylike: Learn about Susan La Flesche Picotte, the first American Indian physician and the first to found a private hospital on an American Indian reservation, in this video from the Unladylike2020 series. Susan La Flesche Picotte grew up on the Omaha Reservation in Nebraska against the backdrop of the Dawes Act of 1887 which sought to force indigenous tribes onto reservations and foster their assimilation into white society. Neither of her parents spoke English, but they encouraged her pursuit of an Anglo-American education. Picotte graduated from Women’s Medical College in 1889 and returned to the Omaha reservation to spend her career making house calls on foot, horse, and horse-drawn buggy across its 1,350 square miles. Also a fierce community leader, Picotte worked tirelessly to help her tribe combat the theft of American Indian land and public health crises including the spread of tuberculosis and alcoholism. Support materials include discussion questions, research project ideas, and primary source analysis.
- Unladylike: Learn about Annie Smith Peck, one of the first women in America to become a college professor and who took up mountain climbing in her forties, in this video from Unladylike2020. Peck gained international fame in 1895 when she first climbed the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps -- not for her daring ascent, but because she undertook the climb wearing pants rather than a cumbersome skirt. Fifteen years later, at age 58, Peck was the first mountaineer ever to conquer Mount Huascarán in Peru, one of the highest peaks in the Western Hemisphere. Support materials include discussion questions, vocabulary, and teaching tips for extending learning through research projects.
- Triangle Shirtwaist Fire:
- National Women’s History Museum: On the Eve of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, what were the conditions in the sweatshops of Manhattan in 1911 and how were individuals seeking change? The story of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire is multidimensional. The tragedy, which caused the death of 146 garment workers, highlighted many of the issues that defined urban life in turn-of-the-century America. These topics include, but are not limited to labor unions, immigration, industrialization, and factory girls working in sweatshop conditions in Manhattan’s garment district. March 25, 1911 became a benchmark moment in the Progressive Era that ultimately resulted in drastic changes in labor standards for factories across New York City, and later the nation. However, with the horrifying death toll, mostly young immigrant women, it is a story that highlights early 20th century labor activism, the power of big business, and the emerging voice of women, still silenced at the voting booths. Through this tragic event, we can learn about not only the women who died but the movement that they provoked and the conditions of labor that they forever changed.
- Gilder Lehrman: How did the Industrial Revolution impact the lives of women and what were the causes and effects of the fire? Dramatic change characterized the rapid industrialization of nineteenth-century America. The economy, politics, society and specifically women were all affected. In the early stages of this economic revolution, manufacturing was moved to factories in newly developing urban areas. Young women began working in the textile industry as early as 1820. Later on as goods were increasingly produced by machines run by unskilled labor, the number of women in the industrial workforce grew. Women entered the ranks of industrial workforce as seamstresses who produced ready-made clothing in the city sweatshops. One event, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, helps us to understand the experience of these women.
- National Women’s History Museum: On the Eve of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, what were the conditions in the sweatshops of Manhattan in 1911 and how were individuals seeking change? The story of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire is multidimensional. The tragedy, which caused the death of 146 garment workers, highlighted many of the issues that defined urban life in turn-of-the-century America. These topics include, but are not limited to labor unions, immigration, industrialization, and factory girls working in sweatshop conditions in Manhattan’s garment district. March 25, 1911 became a benchmark moment in the Progressive Era that ultimately resulted in drastic changes in labor standards for factories across New York City, and later the nation. However, with the horrifying death toll, mostly young immigrant women, it is a story that highlights early 20th century labor activism, the power of big business, and the emerging voice of women, still silenced at the voting booths. Through this tragic event, we can learn about not only the women who died but the movement that they provoked and the conditions of labor that they forever changed.
- Queen Liliokalani:
- Stanford History Education Group: In 1898, the U.S. officially annexed Hawaii—but did Hawaiians support this? In this lesson, students read two newspaper articles, both hosted on the website Chronicling America, which make very different arguments about Hawaiians' support for—or opposition to—annexation. Students focus on sourcing as they investigate the motivations and perspectives of both papers and why they make very different claims.
- Unladylike: Queen Lili‘uokalani was the first sovereign queen, and the last monarch, of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. At the time of her reign, a new Hawaiian constitution imposed by white Americans had reduced the voting rights of Hawaiian citizens and much of the monarchy’s powers, transferring power to American business owners and missionaries. Learn how Lili‘uokalani fought to restore native Hawaiian rights in this video from Unladylike2020. Support materials include discussion questions, vocabulary, and primary source analysis activity.
- PBS: This inquiry kit has Library of Congress sources about the life and impact of Queen Liliuokalani from Hawaii.
- Stanford History Education Group: In 1898, the U.S. officially annexed Hawaii—but did Hawaiians support this? In this lesson, students read two newspaper articles, both hosted on the website Chronicling America, which make very different arguments about Hawaiians' support for—or opposition to—annexation. Students focus on sourcing as they investigate the motivations and perspectives of both papers and why they make very different claims.
