The way we worked.

• Position: Focus

WORK and the workplace went through enormous changes between the mid 19th century (when 60% of Americans made their living as farmers) and the late 20th century. "The Way We Worked" features 86 photographs from the National Archives documenting work, clothing, locales, conditions, and conflicts.

As the depository for historically valuable Federal records, the National Archives is home to thousands of photographs of work and workplaces taken by government agencies for various reasons, including to investigate factory safety, track construction progress, and emphasize the continuing importance of humans in a technologically modem environment.

The images featured, though possibly taken merely for purposes of record keeping, often reveal much more about how social forces such as immigration, gender, ethnicity, class, and technology have transformed the workforce.

The exhibition is divided into five sections:

Where We Worked explores the places Americans toil, from farms to factories, mines to restaurants, as well as how race and gender often determine roles and status.

How We Worked examines the effects of technology and automation on the workplace with images of people on assembly lines or using the tools of their trade.

What We Wore to Work looks at the way uniforms serve as badges of authority and status, and help make occupations immediately identifiable.

Conflict at Work looks back at not just the inevitable clashes between workers and managers over working conditions, wages, and...