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Birth & Childhood of Du Bois
In 1868 Du Bois was born in 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He went to Sunday school with both white and black children. Not until he went into High School he realized many judged people by the color of their skin. -
Florence Kelley
Florence Kelley was a reformer who worked tirelessly to prohibit or limit child labor and improve conditions for female workers. She helped persuade the Illinois legislature in 1893 to prohibit child labor and limit the number of hours women could work. In 1904 Kelley helped organize the National Child Labor Committee to persuade state legislatures to pass laws against employing young children. -
Muller v. Oregon
In 1908 an employer challanged the 10-hour-workday law that Florence Kelly helped pass through the Oregon legislature.Kelly and Josephine Goldmark quickly gathered information for a legal arguement. Goldmark hired her step-brother Louis D. Brandeis to argue the case. Brandeis's case contained many examples of how long work days harm women's health and well being. -
The Triangle shirtwaist Fire
On Saturday, March 25, 1911 around 500 employees of young women finishing their workweek at New York City's Triangle Shirtwaist Company. As the women were getting up from their tables a fire started in a rag bin. The entire eighth floor of the 10 story building was set ablaze. There were only two stair case exits that were locked before the fire erupted to prevent the workers from stealing material. Some women tried to flee through the freight elevator shaft. Women then jumped to their death. -
Eighteenth Amendment
The Eighteenth Amendment was proposed in 1917. It banned the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages. It was ratified in 1919. The amendment proved unpopular and difficult to enforce. It was repealed in 1933