Uprising by:  Margaret Peterson Haddix

Summary: In 1927, at the urging of twenty-one-year-old Harriet, Mrs. Livingston reluctantly recalls her experiences at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory, including miserable working conditions that led to a strike, then the fire that took the lives of her two best friends, when Harriet, the boss’s daughter, was only five years old. Includes historical notes.

Author Web Site:  http://www.haddixbooks.com

Teacher’s Guide (Indepth Lesson Plan):
http://urbandreams.ousd.k12.ca.us/lessonplans/triangle/index.html

Related Links: The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

Triangle Factory Fire Online Exhibit by Cornell University

Related Links:  The Gilded Age

Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt (NPR Article with Photos)

Related Links:  New York City History

Big Apple History from PBS Kids

Related Links:  Shirtwaists

Photo of Shirtwaist

Related Links:  Strikes and Labor Unions

AFL-CIO:  The Uprising of 20,000 and the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

Related Links:  Women’s Suffrage

Alva Vanderbilt Belmont:  Suffragist

Votes for Women:  Selections from the National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection, 1848-1921 (For Teachers with Great Images from the Library of Congress)

Related Links:  Wright Brothers

Discovery Channel:  The Wright Stuff

National Geographic:  Short Video on History of Flight

Read Aloud Recommendation: This book would be a good choice when studying the Industrial Revolution, suffrage/women’s rights, immigration, the Gilded Age, or American immigration.  It’s also an engaging example of historical fiction.  Knowing that two characters perish in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, but not knowing which character survived keeps the reader intrigued.