Making History “come alive” has been an ongoing project in the Social Studies department at Eli Whitney.  Lessons hold more power when students can experience things first hand, even when it is just for fun. Juniors in the Modern United States History classes made history come alive when they recreated assembly line working conditions at the Tri-Angle Shirtwaist factory during the turn of the century. 

The lesson takes students through the evolution of assembly line production from homemade items to mass assembly lines.   The lesson began by having the students try drawing as many shirtwaists as they could freehand using only a projected image and crayon.  This was to help students understand that early production of products was done in the home with limited tools.   This isn’t that easy to do”, one student commented. 

The class then divided itself into two smaller factories: the Tri Company and the Angle Company. Students were given a pattern of the shirtwaist and assigned several parts to trace and pass on to the next student.  Along with the beginnings of their assembly line, each company had a “line boss” overseeing production. 

While students realized that smaller assembly lines made creating a number of items of similar quality easier, students also noticed that doing several jobs could create some backlog in their production.

The class then merged the two companies to form the Tri-Angle Shirtwaist Factory. To help create a dirty and cramped atmosphere, the windows were covered and the lights were dimmed to show conditions workers at the turn of the 20th century had to face. At one point in the activity, the only light was the projection of the shirtwaist on the wall.  Students then assumed the roles of assembly line workers and traced only one part of a shirt before passing it on to their coworker.

As part of a unit about immigration and labor conditions, students truly learned how specialization of labor and assembly-line production impacted workers at the turn of the twentieth century.  After the activity, students listened to the accounts of the Tri-Angle Shirtwaist factory fire of 1911, and discussed the pros and cons of assembly line work.

The idea of making history a hands-on learning experience is something that the Social Studies department has been doing for the last three years and students look forward to working in the “Sweatshop”.