CCSS

R.1, R.3, R.4, R.7, W.3, SL.1, L.5, L.6 

The Newsies

Meet the gutsy working kids who fought back against their bosses—and won! 

Based on the true story of the Newsboys’ Strike of 1899 

Granger, NYC/The Granger Collection

CHARACTERS

Check the character you’re going to read.

*Starred characters have larger speaking parts.

  • *Narrators 1, 2, 3  (N1, N2, N3) 
  • Crowd, the whole class 
  • *Ani, a 12-year-old girl who just moved to New York City 
  • *Rose, Sully, Boots Newsies—kids who sell newspapers 
  • Manager
  • Man 1, 2
  • Woman
  • Worker 1, 2
  • William Randolph Hearst, a newspaper owner 
  • Assistant

PROLOGUE

N1: In 1898, there were no radios, TVs, or computers.

N2: Newspapers were the only way to find out what was going on in the world. 

N3: New York’s two big papers were the World and the Journal

N1: Every day, these papers were sold on the street by kids called “newsies.” 

N2: Newsies worked from early morning to late at night. 

N3: They were poor and often homeless. 

N1: Newsies worked to feed themselves and their families. 

N2: When newspaper owners stopped treating them fairly—

CROWD: —the newsies stood up for their rights.

SCENE 1

A newspaper office, New York City, April 1898

ANI: Is this where you sign up? 

N3: The newsies look her over. 

ROSE: Why ain’t you at school? 

ANI: I have to help my family.

Sully: Don’t we all. 

Ani: How do I sell these?

BOOTS: You buy two newspapers for a penny, but sell them for a penny apiece.

ROSE: You double your money. 

N1: Boots goes to the window. 

MANAGER: How many?

BOOTS: I’ll take 100.

N2: Boots hands over 50 cents. 

MANAGER: Sorry, kid. Price for 100 papers is now 60 cents. 

BOOTS: I won’t earn as much! 

MANAGER: But these papers will sell like hotcakes. Look at the headline: America Declares War! 

BOOTS: Then give me 200!

N3: Ani and Rose buy some too.

Granger, NYC/The Granger Collection (New York Street); Courtesy of the Library of Congress (Working Kids)

Packed with People  
In the late 1800s, many farmers and immigrants came to New York City in search of better jobs. The smells of food and factory smoke hung in the air. The streets were always very crowded—and often filthy. (left)

 

Kids at Work  
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, millions of children went to work. They earned money to help support their families. Some sold newspapers, flowers, or candy on the street. Others took dangerous jobs in factories and mines. (right)

SCENE 2

Later that day

BOOTS: These’ll be easy to sell.

ANI: How do you know?

ROSE: Cuz the news is good. 

BOOTS (shouting): Hot off the press! America at war! 

ANI: How is war good news? 

ROSE: It’s good news for us. Boring news doesn’t sell papers. 

BOOTS: Get your papers here! War with Spain! 

MAN 1: War? I’ll buy one.

N1: Another person walks up.

WOMAN: I’ll take two!

N2: In just a few minutes, Boots sells a dozen papers. 

ROSE: Now you try, Ani. 

ANI: Read all about it! War with Spain!

WORKER 1: I’ll take one. 

ANI: Here you go.

SCENE 3

July 1899

N3: The war has ended. 

N1: The newsies stand on a street corner. People walk past.

ANI: No one’s buying papers.

BOOTS: There’s no more war. 

ROSE: People don’t care when the big news is a cat up a tree.  

BOOTS: I’m callin’ it quits.

ANI: I still have 40 papers left. If I stop now, I’ll lose money!

ROSE: Sorry, Ani.

N2: Ani stands alone on the street. No one buys her papers.

SCENE 4

The next morning

N3: Rose and Boots enter a room packed with newsies. 

N1: Sully speaks to the crowd.

SULLY: The newspaper owners said they would drop the price once the war was over. 

CROWD: Yeah!

SULLY: Did they? 

CROWD: No!  

SULLY: The time has come to take a stand. I say we strike! 

CROWD: Strike! Strike! Strike!

SULLY: Stick together. Nobody sells papers. If you see anyone selling papers, tear them up!

SCENE 5

A few hours later 

N2: Rose looks for Ani. 

N3: She finds her in an alley.

ROSE: Where have you been?

ANI: I was out all night trying to sell my papers. 

N1: Ani begins to cry. 

ANI: I still have 32 left. 

ROSE: There’s good news, Ani. We’re going on strike.

ANI: We’re going to stop selling papers?

ROSE: Right. We’ll force the newspaper owners to lower our price back to 50 cents. 

ANI: I won’t earn anything!

ROSE: Sometimes you have to give a little up front to get more later.

SCENE 6

A week later 

N2: The Journal was owned by William Randolph Hearst. 

N3: Hearst was one of the most powerful men in New York.

HEARST: What’s the story? 

ASSISTANT: The newsies’ strike is hitting us hard. 

HEARST: We’re not selling as many papers?

ASSISTANT: No. Our sales have dropped.

HEARST: I’ve worked too hard to let this paper be ruined by a bunch of brats!

SCENE 7

Central Park, August 1899 

N1: Ani and Rose pass out flyers.

ROSE: Is that your stomach growling? When was the last time you ate?

N2: Ani shrugs. Rose hands out another flyer. 

MAN 2 (reading): “Please don’t buy the World or Journal newspapers.” What’s this?

ROSE: We’re on strike. 

N3: The man crumples it up.

ANI: This will never work.

N1: A factory worker passes by and gives them each a penny. 

WORKER 2: Stay strong, kids. 

ANI: Thank you! 

N2: Boots runs up, excited. 

BOOTS: All the newsies have started a protest. Come on!

Bettmann/Getty Images

A Changing World  
The newsies were part of a larger change in America. Around that time, all kinds of workers—including many kids—began to demand better treatment from their bosses.

SCENE 8

The Brooklyn Bridge 

N3: Ani, Rose, and Boots join 1,000 children on the bridge. 

N1: Traffic is at a standstill. 

CROWD: Newsies on strike!

SULLY: We demand a fair deal!

N2: A wagon carrying papers tries to get through the crowd.

N3: Newsies swarm the wagon like ants on a hot dog. 

BOOTS: Get those papers! 

N1: The protesters overturn the wagon. They throw papers over the side of the bridge. 

N2: The driver runs off. 

SULLY: You tell Mr. Hearst that we ain’t givin’ up! 

CROWD: Wooo! Woooo! Yeah!

N3: Hearst’s car pulls up. The crowd gets quiet. 

HEARST: Listen up! The papers will cost the same. But if you go back to work, I’ll buy back every paper you don’t sell. 

N1: The children murmur to one another.

ANI: Is that a good deal?

BOOTS: Sure it is. When you can’t sell your papers, you’ll get your money back. 

N2: Ani calls out.

ANI: I like it!

ROSE: Me too!  

SULLY: We’ll take it!

CROWD: Wooooo! Yeah! Yeah! 

EPILOGUE

Ani: Selling papers saved my family from homelessness. 

ROSE: I got to go to school! 

BOOTS: You’re lucky. I had to work at the docks.

SULLY: Life was still hard.

ANI: But the strike gave us power. It showed us that we had rights— 

BOOTS: —even though we were just kids.

N3: Back then, many children throughout the U.S. worked in unsafe and unfair jobs.

N1: Almost 40 years later, a law was passed to help them.

N2: Today, kids can’t work more than 18 hours during a school week.  

N3: And all children have the right to an education. 

BOOTS: Those laws didn’t pass in our lifetimes. 

ANI: But our bravery helped pave the way. 

 

ACTIVITY

Making an Inference

You’ve just read “The Newsies.” Now it’s time to try this activity.

TipAn inference is something that isn’t stated but can be figured out from clues in the text.

What to do: Imagine that you are Ani, 10 years after the strike. You’re answering a friend’s questions about your time as a newsie. Make inferences to answer each question below with at least one complete sentence.

The first time you walked into the newspaper office, Rose said, “Why ain’t you at school?” Why did she ask you that? 

At the protest in Central Park, Rose asked you if your stomach was growling. Why were you so hungry during the strike?

When you and Rose were handing out flyers in the park, you talked with two adults: Man 2 and Worker 2. How did each of them feel about the strike?

Man 2: ______

Worker 2: ______

At the beginning of the strike, Rose said, “Sometimes you have to give a little up front to get more later.” What did she mean?

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