Driving Question: How did past generations of Americans understand and answer calls to civic duty in civil society, religious communities, and politics?

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Chicago-based reformer Jane Addams worked to bring fair labor conditions to those who were struggling. Through social and economic reform movements, Addams sought to help those in need of fair working conditions. This article contains Addams’s comments and arguments on the labor issue, especially as it relates to women.  Notice the headline that read “Hours Too Long For Girls” and the arguments that follow.

This is a 1909 letter to the editor of the New York Times. This letter has a working female asking why she cannot have the ballot, as she wants to vote to give herself and other women better working conditions.

The ILGWU is the International Ladies Garments Workers Union, which organized women who worked in the clothing trades. This video contains primary source footage of women’s working conditions in the 20th century.

Primary source footage showing women in Texas involved in a strike and labor movement. This labor movement lasted from 1959-1963 and involved Tex-Son workers in San Antonio. According to the Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas, all of the Tex-Son workers were female, and 90% were Mexican-Americans. This primary source brings further study of women working towards better labor conditions.

This image of Tex-Son workers on strike shows what the women were striking for; notice the signs that ask for a “decent contract”.

To give a later 20^th century (1982) example of women continuing to be involved in the labor movement; specifically, in New York City’s Chinatown with females who worked in garment industries. This example also involved unions and can be used to bring women and labor unions into the discussion.

During the Revolutionary War, according to military historians, approximately 90% of deaths among soldiers were the result of the spread of smallpox. As a result, Washington decided to mandate the vaccination of the troops – a process more dangerous and complicated in that era than our public vaccination campaigns today.

In this letter, Thomas Jefferson describes how the yellow fever is harming countless people, even those in the government, yet no one seems to know what can be done. Alexander Hamilton is ill, others are sick or dying, and Jefferson writes about avoiding the appearance of “panic” for the public.

This primary source reflects the incredible help that African Americans provided during Philadelphia’s yellow fever epidemic of 1793. Those who helped recount speaking with the mayor about what could be done and working with the government of the city in order to help those in need. Later in the document, the writers recount that they asked for pay for their many services given during this time of illness and need, yet some citizens turned against them.

The federal government left Philadelphia in 1793 to avoid the yellow fever epidemic; the federal  government’s response to the health concern was to leave the city. This letter is from Secretary of War Henry Knox and relates to the government weighing whether or not it was safe for them to go back to Philadelphia (students may need to be reminded that before Washington, DC, the federal government met in Philadelphia).

Known as the Shattuck Report and done with the Massachusetts Sanitary Commission in 1850, this was the first in-depth look at public health. It focused on health and living conditions in Boston but had far-reaching impacts in bringing public health to the forefront of important national issues. According to many, this was the first attempt to get a public health code in place in a major American city. Shattuck’s report came at a time when the government was doing little to help immigrants arriving to the US, low-wage workers were living in unsanitary conditions, the working poor received almost no government help, and healthcare was nearly nonexistent for those living in poverty. The report revealed the need for public health codes and government intervention; according to LSU Biotech Law, “This report is one of the fundamental documents in public health in the United States. It is the first systematic use of birth and death records and other demographic data to describe the health of a population. Its recommendations became the foundation of the sanitation movement in the United States. . . “ This report also outlines technology as a necessity for government intervention in public health, mentioning everything from sanitation systems to sanitation laws.

This book outlines health advice for soldiers; it was published by the federal government under the US Sanitary Commission during the Civil War, at a time when the Union Army needed government assistance to keep soldiers healthy. The work also discusses everything from diet to sanitation.

This photograph shows a Union Civil War hospital in June 1862. This photograph could be used in conjunction with the “Rules for the preserving the health of the soldier” (the primary source listed above) to showcase some of the measures taken for the health of soldiers.

This four-page August 19, 1864 letter is from African American surgeon Dr. John H. Rapier, Jr.  In the letter, Dr. Rapier recounts being paid by the US government for his medical services. This primary source shows the important role of African American medical practitioners in the Civil War, and makes reference to Frederick Douglass being summoned by the President and meeting with Dr. Rapier thereafter.

These photographs are from the Marine Hospital at Staten Island, New York, where the Hygienic Laboratory was established in 1887. The tents are for people with tuberculosis; Joseph James Kinyoun was the Assistant Surgeon at this location and urged isolation as a way to combat tuberculosis. According to the NIH, this Marine Hospital “marked the beginning of the National Institutes of Health and laid the groundwork for government-supported scientific research in the United States”. A major purpose of this location was to look for diseases among immigrants arriving from Europe, at a time when anti-immigrant beliefs were already a problem in the US.

This 1907 photograph shows immigrants being examined at Ellis Island. The US government required medical examinations upon arrival in the US. It could be important to point out public perceptions of immigrants at this time in American history, and how anti-immigrant beliefs were influencing government decisions about medicine and health.

In terms of government public health initiatives over time, local governments are an important part of that history. This primary source is from Birmingham, Alabama’s School Board minutes from December 1918, in which the possibility of closing schools due to the flu epidemic. The document explains that doctors of the Committee of Health have been consulted on the issue as well. This could be a useful primary source for studying local government decisions in public health issues.

This 1919 newspaper article has the headline “Swat the Flu is Slogan for 1919 Campaign Against Dread Destroyer that Looms Again: Measure Approved in Both Houses of Congress Would Appropriate $5,000,000 for Investigation of Epidemic Which Swept Over America in 1918, Costing Thousands of Lives”. The article details government actions regarding public health during the 1918-1919 flu epidemic.

This 1955 primary source is about the US government’s Polio Vaccine Assistance Act and the US government’s public health efforts to fight polio. This two-page document explains how states will receive money for vaccination programs and distribute the vaccine, among other details. Notice the first page calls this a “new advance in preventive medicine”.

This 1955 White House press release details President Eisenhower’s honoring Jonas Salk with a “citation for his extraordinary achievement” in developing a polio vaccine. Eisenhower, in this press release, details the massive efforts the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis has taken to work towards a polio vaccine. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s own struggle with polio, and the gratitude of America as a whole, are also discussed.

This Library of Congress 14 minute and 35 second video is from 1955 and details the efforts made to fight polio. From the NBC Television Collection, this primary source allows students to watch a primary source video that details items such as how vaccines are made, including the safety of vaccines. The description reads: “HEW Secretary Oveta Culp Hobby and Surgeon General Leonard Scheele talk about the Salk polio vaccine and assuage concerns about its safety”. (HEW is “Health, Education, and Welfare”.)

Marina was the interpreter, guide, enslaved woman, diplomat, and concubine of Hernan Cortes during his conquest of Mexico. Marina’s knowledge of geography, culture, and the native language of the Aztecs, Nahuatl, made her an asset to the Spanish conquistadores. She is shown here in pages of the Florentine Codex translating for Hernan Cortes. In the image below, the symbols coming from Marina represent speech.

A near-mythic figure, Pocahontas continues to capture the imagination about the colonial past and women’s place in it. However, her story is often misrepresented and therefore is a good entry point for students to dig into the realities regarding relations between English settlers and Indigenous tribes. Note Pocahontas’ European-style dress and the inscription at the bottom of this portrait, signifying her baptism to Christianity (possibly under duress) and her marriage to John Rolfe.

The Last Will and Testament of Joseph Grover shows how women could be legally marginalized in the passage of land to male descendants in the colonial era. See “women and the law” in the context section below for more information.

Recognized as the first Indigenous woman to be canonized by the Catholic Church, Kateri Tekakwitha was a Mohawk who lived in the Northeast (possibly New York) and converted to Christianity after hearing the teachings of Jesuit missionaries.

This water jar dates to 1700-1750 and was used in ritual healings. This object, likely made by a female artisan, represents the labor of Indigenous women. This particular jar was created after the Pueblo Revolt, after which Pueblo communities returned to the traditions that predated the Spanish (and Christian) colonization.

José Joaquín Magón’s painting, The Mestizo (second half of 18th c.), follows the casta painting tradition of displaying Spanish father (left) and elite indigenous mother(right) with their child. Used as a way to categorize racial hierarchies in New Spain, this image and others like it provide a glimpse into how a woman’s experience in colonial America was shaped by the intersections of her race and gender and how she might have been perceived by European contemporaries.

The inscription on this painting reads: “In America people are born in diverse colors, customs, temperaments and languages. From the Spaniard and the Indian is born the mestizo, usually humble, quiet and simple."

While marriage laws may have placed women at a disadvantage when it came to property ownership, this letter from Mary Alexander shows how a widowed woman could inherit property and become a business owner.

Written by the fifty-one women of the Edenton Ladies Patriotic Guide, this public declaration in support of boycotting British tea was the first time a group of women in the British colonies joined together to create a public political statement of affiliation.

This satirical cartoon was created in 1775 by London cartoonist, Philip Dawe. In it, he depicted the Edenton Tea Party women neglecting their duties as colonial wives and mothers and revealing a negative attitude towards women in politics.

Abigail Adams wrote this letter to John Adams while he was present at the 1776 Continental Congress. In her letter, Abigail reveals how she used the rhetoric of the Revolution to implore her husband to “remember the ladies” as he argued for independence from Britain.

This Phillis Wheatley poem, enclosed in a letter to a friend, shows how Wheatley used poetry to argue the case for abolition. While praising the efforts of the colonists, she issues criticism at the hypocrisy of maintaining the institution of slavery.

Belinda Sutton’s Petition, 1788

Born in West Africa and enslaved by the loyalist Royall family, Belinda Sutton lived in Massachusetts. Belinda was released from slavery when the legislature of Massachusetts seized her enslavers’ property after the Revolutionary War. Soon after gaining her freedom, Sutton petitioned the state legislature to grant her a pension out of the Royall family estate. Sutton wrote petitions to the Massachusetts General Court in 1783, 1785, 1788, and 1793. The legislature agreed to pay her £15 12s per year. Sutton is thought to be the first person to have gained reparations as a result of her enslavement.

This advertisement sought the return of runaway Ona Judge, the enslaved woman of George Washington. This source and the one below should prompt students to consider what we can learn about enslaved women from ads like these, especially given the paucity of primary sources written by and about the lives of enslaved women.

Deborah Sampson was one of a few women who fought as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Deborah was raised in poverty and spent several years in indentured servitude. Thus, her life also reveals how socioeconomic status might have shaped a woman’s experience.

Testimony of Deborah Sampson is Deborah’s sworn testimony that she served in the army. In her testimony, Deborah explains how she is in need of financial support in the form of a military pension. Deborah was one of two women to receive payment from the young US Government for her service as a soldier in the continental army.

The Election of 1800 was a bitter partisan battle. This article highlights the opposition felt towards incumbent president John Adams, focusing on both political and moral failings on his behalf. Adams would go on to lose New York’s vote and the presidency.

In this cartoon from 1797, as Monticello Classroom explains, "Jefferson’s political enemies portrayed the then-vice-president as dangerously pro-French, un-Christian, and un-American. Jefferson kneels ready to sacrifice the U.S. Constitution …[as] God and an American eagle oppose him, as Satan happily looks on.”

Thomas Paine did not hesitate to critique John Adams and the federalist party during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency. As a result, federalists published this image of Thomas Paine working with the devil to bring down the Nation.

According to the Library of Congress, “State and federal laws governing elections and citizenship are listed in this anonymous broadside, clearly published with an eye to the elections leading up to the national presidential election of 1800. In Pennsylvania, Federalists and Republicans battled to elect supporters for the state legislature so that they could control the selection of presidential electors. In the end, Pennsylvania’s electors split their votes between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.”

Newspapers during the Election of 1800 were very partisan and did not shy away from personal and private attacks on candidates. Samuel Harrison Smith started the National Intelligencer as a Republican affiliated paper at the behest of Thomas Jefferson.

James Calendar was a partisan editor who wrote this piece denouncing John Adams on the basis of his moral failings.

The election of 1860 came with stark partisanship between candidates Abraham LIncoln, John Bell, Stephen A. Douglas, and John C. Breckinridge. In this cartoon, Lincoln wins “The National Game” by using his "good bat" –– a wooden rail labeled "Equal Rights and Free Territory.”

This political cartoon is anti-Lincoln, pointing to his leadership as the reason for the South seceding from the Union.

In this cartoon, Lincoln is dressed as a “Wide Awake,” a member of a Republican-supporting youth group in the North. In the background, we see incumbent James Buchanan helping the other presidential candidates through the window of the White House. This depicts the partisan splits leading up to the 1860 election.

The intense partisan debates around the Election of 1860 alluded to the coming violence and secession of the Civil War. In this cartoon,  each candidate works to pull the “National Map” further apart.

The “Wide-Awakes,” a youth movement, formed first in Hartford, Connecticut in 1860. Influenced by published writings and songs about their movement, clubs formed throughout the north and midwest. The groups were Republican-leaning, abolitionist, and increasingly paramilitary over the course of the year leading up to the election.

This image ran in Harper’s Weekly and shows the Wide-Awakes carrying torches and wearing uniform capes at a rally in New York.

Prior to this event, presidential candidates had never before debated on television. Television introduced new challenges and offered new opportunities to the candidates; their appearances, body language, expressions, and live interactions were now broadcast to a wide audience for immediate scrutiny.

This letter concerns the use of television for the presidential debate, and the work required with ABC, NBC, and CBS to televise these debates.

This document describes an appearance by John F. Kennedy, then a candidate, on television. The importance of the new medium is emphasized in phrases such as, “Senator Kennedy . . . makes a planned, strong, and dramatic closing statement . . . which excites and brings the audience to its feet.”

This news article, published forty years after women received the right to vote, describes the limited role women have in the 1960 political conventions and campaign.

Message from Nixon to the pathbreaking Black baseball player Jackie Robinson on his contributions to the 1960 campaign, with a reference to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. being jailed in Georgia.

This political cartoon is a commentary on the televised presidential debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Television was a new medium in the 1960 presidential election; in the image, patriotic icons Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty watch the candidates wrestle on a giant television.

Political cartoon of presidential candidate Richard Nixon, from the 1960 presidential election.

This abstract of the Census from 1830 not only provides numbers, state by state, of free and enslaved persons – but students will note that there are enslaved persons in many of the states they consider “free” (sample pages at left).

Note that the terminology is historically accurate but might be offensive to students unless context is provided (this will be true for many of the documents from this era).

Nat Turner’s Rebellion led to both public debate and a tightening of laws and policies. “Nat Turner was an enslaved man who had learned to read and write and become a religious leader despite his enslavement; following what he took to be religious signs, he led other enslaved people in an armed uprising. The violence of the uprising and Turner’s ability to escape and hide for approximately six weeks following the event led to changes in laws and policies and also led to a widespread climate of fear among white slaveholders. Enslaved people in far-flung states who had no connection to the event were lynched by white mobs. The State of Virginia briefly considered ending the practice of slavery in the wake of the rebellion, but they ultimately decided instead to tighten the laws of slavery.

While the Trail of Tears and “Indian Removal Act” are not central to understanding slavery, they are critical events in the history of the country in this era; in addition, the concept of “indian removal” connects directly to tensions that rose as the nation expanded in both population and territory.

As the United States acquired Western territories, and as the power battle between slaveholding and free states continued, the land on which Native nations lived became increasingly valuable. After President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the Choctaw, Creek, and Cherokee nations were forced to move from their land, most often on foot and with the deaths of many people, into Western territories. The 1838 forced removal of the Cherokee people from their Georgia land led to the deaths of thousands of people (exact numbers are unknown, but estimates range around 4,000 - 5,000.)

“On May 26, 1836, the House of Representatives adopted a ‘Gag Rule’ stating that all petitions regarding slavery would be tabled without being read, referred, or printed….The enactment of the Gag Rule, rather than discouraging petitioners, energized the anti-slavery movement to flood the Capitol with written demands. Activists held up the suppression of debate as an example of the slaveholding South’s infringement of the rights of all Americans.”

As the nation expanded Westward, tensions rose further over whether new states and territories would permit or prohibit slavery.

“The pact set a border between Texas and Mexico and ceded California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming to the United States. …the acquisition of so much territory with the issue of slavery unresolved lit the fuse that eventually set off the Civil War in 1861.”

Students would benefit from reading an excerpt of the text of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass – but in addition, the cover itself is an interesting artifact, and students can discuss its details and its possible impact upon publication in 1845. (See also text in this chart, below, from Frederick Douglass’ July 4 address in 1852.)

As new states were added to the nation, the question of how many would permit slavery and how many would prohibit it – and, therefore, which faction had more power – continued to contribute to growing tension.

This map has a range of valuable information, not only about Presidential politics, but also about population statistics and slavery. It makes a particular point of comparison with the 1830 Census, hyperlinked above in this chart.

See above; understanding the life and words of Sojourner Truth helps students to understand the complexity and intersectionality of both the women’s rights movement and the abolitionist movement.

“The years of 1854-1861 were a turbulent time in Kansas territory. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 …allowed the residents of these territories to decide by popular vote whether their state would be free or slave. This concept of self-determination was called popular sovereignty'. …Three distinct political groups occupied Kansas: pro-slavers, free-staters and abolitionists. Violence broke out immediately between these opposing factions and continued until 1861 when Kansas entered the Union as a free state on January 29th. This era became forever known as ‘Bleeding Kansas’.” (National Park Service, link at right.)

This photograph pairs with the text in the row below from the Women’s Rights Convention of 1853, when Sojourner Truth spoke to the group.

The Women’s Rights Convention: The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 is a significant event in the fight for women’s rights and for women’s suffrage, though activists at the convention itself debated whether suffrage should be the center point of their platform. In addition, the Seneca Falls Convention is now widely understood to represent some tension between the women’s rights movement and the abolitionist movement; some activists at the time felt that the right to vote should not go to black men before white women. In this collection of documents, Sojourner Truth’s speech to a smaller, subsequent convention – one held in New York in 1853 – is included, largely because of the critical role Sojourner Truth plays in demonstrating the importance of the intersectionality of both the women’s rights and abolitionist movements.

Young colonial girls raised in wealthy households were trained in the skills of a housewife early on. Samplers like this one displayed a girl's aptitude for needlework and could be hung as a piece of art in a family household.

In colonial New England, a primer like this one may have been in use as early as 1690. Children first learned their ABCs and basic literacy through primers. Since the Bible was seen as the primary means through which a child would attain literacy, these primers would often incorporate religious themes and morals.

Records from the Federal Writers Project are of immense importance in documenting and preserving the experiences of those who survived enslavement. ; Lewis’ account includes reference to the concept of hypodescent, which allowed intergenerational, chattel slavery to persist in the U.S. Lewis also makes note of his lack of access to education and some memories of his childhood.

At Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, and other residential schools like it, Native American children and teens were required to give up their tribal traditions and culture. Carlisle opened in 1879 as the first government-run residential school, aimed at forcing Indigenous youth to assimilate to White culture. These before and after photos were taken as a way to demonstrate the efforts at assimilation.

Life for a student at the Carlisle Indian School was highly regimented and militaristic, signaling the government’s influence on the school’s mission and identity. This source, paired with the images above, offers a glimpse into the daily experience of those enrolled in this program as well as information about the aims of the federal government in establishing institutions such as Carlisle.

Although it is not a certainty, some historians believe that the concept of the American “teenager” originated sometime in the 1940s. A liminal age, the teenager was neither child nor adult. This 1944 TIME Magazine article detailed the “life of the American Teenager” by photojournalist Nina Leen. The full article offers a glimpse into the perception of teens but also offers opportunities for students to consider the rise of the middle class, social status, and race in the middle of the twentieth century.

This photograph shows a group of children in the Weil Public School reciting the pledge of allegiance to the U.S. flag. The young girl in the front row center is Helen Mihara. A few months before this image was taken, Helen’s father, a San Francisco businessman, was arrested and detained in a Department of Justice camp for “enemy aliens.” Soon after this image was taken, Helen and her mother were placed in Tule Lake Relocation Center. Her mother later died in detention.

School segregation was among the most central concerns of the Civil Rights Movement since the 1930s. Activists for school integration argued that separate was not equal and every child, regardless of race, was entitled to education in a safe learning environment. These two images depict daily life in segregated classrooms in the same year, 1941. Brown v. Board of Education would not be passed for more than a decade.

Written three years after the passage of Brown v. Board of Education, this telegram to President Eisenhower details the feelings of parents of the Little Rock Nine, who were a part of the busing program to integrate the Little Rock school system. The Little Rock Nine were the first African American students to enter Little Rock’s Central High School in Arkansas. The parents note that because of the supreme court ruling their “faith in democracy” had been renewed.

Even after the passage of Brown v. Board of Education, school integration was protested. This image shows African American children entering their new school while white mothers protest school integration

In September 1958, Governor Faubus of Arkansas closed all Little Rock public high schools as a result of unrest due to integration. Known as the “Lost Year,” both teachers and students were blocked from their school buildings. This image shows three girls learning “remotely” during that time and offers a glimpse of the efforts to maintain continuity of education in the midst of upheaval.

Even after the passage of Brown v. Board of Education, school integration was protested. This image shows African American children entering their new school while white mothers protest school integration

In July of 1903, Mother Jones led a march from Philadelphia to the home of President Rosevelt to protest the unsafe labor conditions of children working in mills. The story of Mother Jones and the children who accompanied her on her march showcases not only youth activism but also women in the labor movement at the turn of the century.

This ad was created after the passage of the Keating-Own Child Labor Act of 1916. This act limited the working hours of children and placed an age requirement of the age of 16 for any working child. It also forbade the interstate sale of goods produced in factories that employed child labor.

After the US declared war in 1917, children were encouraged to support the war efforts. The Girl Scouts of America provided an opportunity for girls to become involved in volunteer work for the war effort. Organizations like the Girls Scouts and 4H typically trained girls for domestic work. Skills like sewing and first-aid were put to use in new ways for members of the Girl Scouts and 4H during WWI. Here, scouts planted a Victory Garden. Victory gardens, or liberty gardens, first appeared during WWI. The federal government encouraged citizens to plant vegetable gardens to mitigate any food shortages that resulted from the war.

Boyscouts, like Girl Scouts, volunteered in the war effort during both WWI and II. Here, scouts who were too young to go to combat sell war bonds.

The 26th Amendment to the Constitution allowed for those 18 years old or older to vote in elections. Support for decreasing the voting age from 21 to 18 increased during World War II, as young men were conscripted to fight in the war as young as 18 but could not yet vote. This image depicts youth protestors in support of the 26th amendment.

On August 28, 1963, thousands took part in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The March was instigated by a continuing lack of jobs for African Americans and the persistence of segregation. The march was influential in pressuring President John F. Kennedy to draft a strong civil rights bill. This photo depicts Edith Lee-Payne on her twelfth birthday. Edith attended the March with her mother.

Young colonial girls raised in wealthy households were trained in the skills of a housewife early on. Samplers like this one displayed a girl's aptitude for needlework and could be hung as a piece of art in a family household.

This document provides a glimpse into the experiences of colonial children who spent much of their childhood working for families that were not their own. This indenture arraignment also highlights the kinds of skills and education that were valued for girls. Namely, Elizabeth Fortune is said to receive training in the “art of housewifery” in exchange for her service.

In colonial New England, a primer like this one may have been in use as early as 1690. Children first learned their ABCs and basic literacy through primers. Since the Bible was seen as the primary means through which a child would attain literacy, these primers would often incorporate religious themes and morals.

Records from the Federal Writers Project are of immense importance in documenting and preserving the experiences of those who survived enslavement. ; Lewis’ account includes reference to the concept of hypodescent, which allowed intergenerational, chattel slavery to persist in the U.S. Lewis also makes note of his lack of access to education and some memories of his childhood.

At Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, and other residential schools like it, Native American children and teens were required to give up their tribal traditions and culture. Carlisle opened in 1879 as the first government-run residential school, aimed at forcing Indigenous youth to assimilate to White culture. These before and after photos were taken as a way to demonstrate the efforts at assimilation.

Life for a student at the Carlisle Indian School was highly regimented and militaristic, signaling the government’s influence on the school’s mission and identity. This source, paired with the images above, offers a glimpse into the daily experience of those enrolled in this program as well as information about the aims of the federal government in establishing institutions such as Carlisle.

This photograph shows a group of children in the Weil Public School reciting the pledge of allegiance to the U.S. flag. The young girl in the front row center is Helen Mihara. A few months before this image was taken, Helen’s father, a San Francisco businessman, was arrested and detained in a Department of Justice camp for “enemy aliens.” Soon after this image was taken, Helen and her mother were placed in Tule Lake Relocation Center. Her mother later died in detention.

This magazine spread on sharecropping children was published the same year that President Rosevelt established the Farm Security Administration. The FSA was a New Deal agency that provided assistance and relief to agricultural workers impacted by drought and the Great Depression.

During the Great Depression, The Farm Security Administration attempted to aid workers and farmers by setting up housing camps, providing loans and training to workers, among other forms of assistance. This source shows a group of children playing marbles in one of the FSA labor camps in Texas, offering a glimpse into daily life and play for children living through the Great Depression.

Although it is not a certainty, some historians believe that the concept of the American “teenager” originated sometime in the 1940s. A liminal age, the teenager was neither child nor adult. This 1944 TIME Magazine article detailed the “life of the American Teenager” by photojournalist Nina Leen. The full article offers a glimpse into the perception of teens but also offers opportunities for students to consider the rise of the middle class, social status, and race in the middle of the twentieth century.

School segregation was among the most central concerns of the Civil Rights Movement since the 1930s. Activists for school integration argued that separate was not equal and every child, regardless of race, was entitled to education in a safe learning environment. These two images depict daily life in segregated classrooms in the same year, 1941. Brown v. Board of Education would not be passed for more than a decade.

Written three years after the passage of Brown v. Board of Education, this telegram to President Eisenhower details the feelings of parents of the Little Rock Nine, who were a part of the busing program to integrate the Little Rock school system. The Little Rock Nine were the first African American students to enter Little Rock’s Central High School in Arkansas. The parents note that because of the supreme court ruling their “faith in democracy” had been renewed.

Even after the passage of Brown v. Board of Education, school integration was protested. This image shows African American children entering their new school while white mothers protest school integration

On August 28, 1963, thousands took part in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The March was instigated by a continuing lack of jobs for African Americans and the persistence of segregation. The march was influential in pressuring President John F. Kennedy to draft a strong civil rights bill. This photo depicts Edith Lee-Payne on her twelfth birthday. Edith attended the March with her mother.

The 26th Amendment to the Constitution allowed for those 18 years old or older to vote in elections. Support for decreasing the voting age from 21 to 18 increased during World War II, as young men were conscripted to fight in the war as young as 18 but could not yet vote. This image depicts youth protestors in support of the 26th amendment.

In September 1958, Governor Faubus of Arkansas closed all Little Rock public high schools as a result of unrest due to integration. Known as the “Lost Year,” both teachers and students were blocked from their school buildings. This image shows three girls learning “remotely” during that time and offers a glimpse of the efforts to maintain continuity of education in the midst of upheaval.

Celebrities were no exception to the draft during the Vietnam War. Elvis Presley joined the army in 1958 and, in this letter, three girls from Nevada ask President Eisenhower not to shave off his sideburns. This source offers a window into the lives of American teens as well as an example of the role teens played in the evolution and development of American pop culture.

In July of 1903, Mother Jones led a march from Philadelphia to the home of President Rosevelt to protest the unsafe labor conditions of children working in mills. The story of Mother Jones and the children who accompanied her on her march showcases not only youth activism but also women in the labor movement at the turn of the century.

This ad was created after the passage of the Keating-Own Child Labor Act of 1916. This act limited the working hours of children and placed an age requirement of the age of 16 for any working child. It also forbade the interstate sale of goods produced in factories that employed child labor.

After the US declared war in 1917, children were encouraged to support the war efforts. The Girl Scouts of America provided an opportunity for girls to become involved in volunteer work for the war effort. Organizations like the Girls Scouts and 4H typically trained girls for domestic work. Skills like sewing and first-aid were put to use in new ways for members of the Girl Scouts and 4H during WWI. Here, scouts planted a Victory Garden. Victory gardens, or liberty gardens, first appeared during WWI. The federal government encouraged citizens to plant vegetable gardens to mitigate any food shortages that resulted from the war.

Boyscouts, like Girl Scouts, volunteered in the war effort during both WWI and II. Here, scouts who were too young to go to combat sell war bonds.

Images of children laborers at the turn of the century reveal the experiences of children who spent most of their days working in the oftentimes harsh and unsafe conditions of urban factories. After the Civil War, as industry grew in urban areas, children often worked in factories, in markets, and on the streets as vendors.

Like the image above, this source shows a young child operating machinery that he is not even tall enough to reach. Images like these and the one above were captured by activists for child labor laws. The Child labor standards act would be passed in 1916