1880 census of Farmer Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas
Creator: United States. Census Office. 10th census, 1880
Date: June 1, 1880 through June 2, 1880
This excerpt of a census schedule provides details--including the name, age, race, and occupation--of settlers in Farmer Township in Wabaunsee County, Kansas. The county included a black population (B=Black) who had settled there in 1879 with the help of the Freedmen's Relief Association.

Altgeld's great speech
Creator: Altgeld, John P.
Date: 1898
A speech delivered by John P. Altgeld to the working men of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Labor Day, 1897. Altgeld's idea was that government ownership is the remedy for the nation's existing troubles.

A study of the present trades union system
Creator: Britton, Wiley
Date: 1909; copyright 1909
A booklet written by Wiley Britton that focuses on the trades union system. The author asks for equal rights, justice and moderation in the dealings of men with each other, and that special privileges should be given to no one.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company section workers
Date: 1900 and 1909
This black and white photograph shows section workers with their shovels, picks and hammers at an unknown location on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company line.

Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railway section workers
Date: Between 1890 and 1900
A photograph showing a group of Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railway section workers in either Barber or Pratt County, Kansas.

Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Rairoad section workers
Date: Between 1890 and 1900
View of a group of Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad section workers, possibly in Missouri.

Between Millstones
Creator: Kelly, H. B.
Date: 1896
This short pamphlet discusses the problems that high tariffs and the gold standard create for workers and farmers. It clearly presents Populist ideas about the dire situation of Kansas farmers by giving several examples of how businessmen and merchants benefit from the oppression of common laborers. The pamphlet was written by H. B. Kelly and printed by the Jeffersonian Publishing Company in Lawrence, Kansas; each pamphlet cost five cents.

Brick plant, Buffalo, Wilson County, Kansas
Date: Between 1903 and 1930
These two photographs show workers at the brick plant in Buffalo, Wilson County, Kansas, which opened in October of 1903. In the first photograph a man is standing beside the brick kiln. In the second, a man is standing in a warehouse beside trolleys holding finished bricks.

Bruce and Thomas Manufacturing Company of Ottawa
Date: Between 1930 and 1950
Four photographs of the Bruce and Thomas Manufacturing Company in Ottawa, Kansas. The company produced military gear.

By-laws of the Coffeyville Central Labor Union
Creator: Coffeyville Central Labor Union
Date: 1908-1909
The by-laws of the Coffeyville Central Labor Union of Coffeyville, Kansas. Among the reasons to organize this group, was the purpose of bringing the "wealth producers of the world to that plane upon which they so justly deserve to stand."

Clearing snow at Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas
Date: March 1960
This photograph shows a Menninger Clinic maintenance crew clearing snow near the north office. People in the photograph are (left to right) Wallace Tibbits, Rufus Turner, Earl Chandler, Otto Reicherter, and Roy Smith.

Clearing snow near the Service Building at Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas
Date: March 1960
This photograph shows Neil Pursum (on tractor), Bob Leonard (standing), and Don Peterson (in the cab) clearing snow near the Service Building at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas.

Coffeyville Vitrified Brick & Tile Company, Chanute, Kansas
Date: May 15, 1903
This photograph shows a group of workmen from the Coffeyville Vitrified Brick & Tile Company in Chanute, Kansas.

Constitution and By-Laws of the Trade Association of Journeymen Cordwainers, of the City of Leavenworth, Kansas
Creator: Journeymen Cordwainers
Date: October 22, 1862
A pamphlet containing the Constitution and By-Laws of the Trade Association of Journeymen Cordwainers, of Leavenworth, Kansas. The Journeymen formed this association to benefit their members and to protect their business.

Constitution of the Kansas State Federation of Labor
Creator: Kansas State Federation of Labor
Date: July 3, 1890
This constitution of the Kansas State Federation of Labor, adopted on July 3, 1890 in Topeka, Kansas, declares the purpose and functions of the organization. The KSFL sought to organize the many labor organizations of Kansas into a federated union in support of general labor concerns. Its members advocated for an eight hour work day, better working conditions, and other industrial and social reforms of interest to all workers.

Emma Grimm to Arthur Capper
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1915-1919: Capper)
Date: November 27, 1917
Emma Grimm of Sabetha, Nemaha County, wrote this letter to Governor Arthur Capper regarding the child labor law that prohibits the employment of children under the age of 14 in any mercantile establishment. Grimm believes that if children do not learn the value of work at a young age, "then they get stubern and want there own way and that does not work good." Her son Theodore had recently been let go from his job as a grocery delivery boy, which apparently upset him greatly. Theodore was mentioned by name in a letter by another Sabetha citizen, Ralph Tennal, dated December 2, 1917, and in Commissioner P.J. McBride's letter, dated December 8, 1917.

Extracts from reviews of leading journals
Date: Between 1890 and 1920
Extracts from reviews of leading journals on labor unions.

Gas line crew, Neosho County, Kansas
Date: 1909
This photograph shows the gas line crew posing with the first gas pipeline being laid in Neosho County, Kansas.

Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence, chauffers, janitors and laborers applications
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1929-1931 : Reed)
Date: 1929-1931
This file includes subject correspondence relating to applications of employment as chauffeurs, janitors and laborers at the State Capitol. This file is part of a bigger collection of Governor Clyde M. Reed correspondence.

Harry Fine correspondence
Creator: Fine, Harry
Date: October 1915-June 1916
These postcards and letters were written by Harry B. Fine to his parents, Mr. And Mrs. John B. Fine, Princeton, New Jersey, while he was working on the W. J. Tod Ranch, Maple Hill, Kansas. Harry worked on the ranch from October of 1915 to June of 1916. While working on the farm, Harry wrote letters describing his experiences on the ranch. He had just graduated from Andover High School in New Jersey at the age of 15. His father, John, felt that he was too young to start college and thought that a little work experience would do the boy good. The letters describe the year in the life of a teenager who is away from home and in unfamiliar surroundings for the first time. He provides detail about his chores and the people with whom he works.

Hauling dirt for the railroad bed
Creator: Steele, F. M. (Francis Marion), 1866-1936
Date: Between 1891 and 1912
This is a view, presumed to have been taken in Haskell County, Kansas, of rail workers using horse- and mule-drawn wagons to haul dirt for a railroad bed.

Industries of Ottawa, Kansas
Date: Between 1930 and 1960
Five industries based in Ottawa, Kansas.

Interior scenes of Ottawa Steel Products, Kansas
Date: 1963
Various interior plant scenes at Ottawa Steel Products. The men are unidentified.

International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America and Governor Henry Allen correspondence
Creator: Allen, Henry Justin, 1868-1950
Date: January 5 - 11, 1920
In response to the proposed legislation for the Kansas Court of Industrial Relation or the "anti-strike law", the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and Iron Ship Builders writes to Kansas Governor Allen, "we stand true to the dictations of our International Officers and should they order us to protest this legislation, should it be enacted, by striking, or by other means, we would not hesitate to obey their orders". Governor Allen responds by saying there are two classes of labor, one class is patient and so their interests will be considered and another class who likes to use intimidation, but he warns "...by strike nor by other means, shall we bow to the threat of violence and make the law the handmaiden of intimidation."

Kansas Statehouse under construction
Date: 1887
This is a photo of construction of the south wing of the Kansas Statehouse, Topeka, Kansas. Several workers and work horses are in view.