I seem to be finding a TON on the history of child labor. WOW! I can't believe some of this stuff!
Even though new ideas were being developed about the use of children for labor, conditions were still very bad. Normally the environment was cramped and hazardous. Coal mines were extremely dangerous; the breaker boys would sit on a wooden board watching coal and slate flow by through the coal chutes, once in a while, a boy would slip into the coal chute and be smothered to death. The air was thick with dust, and the coal would cut their fingers. In the mines themselves, there was always a fear of cave-ins or explosions. These conditions were completely dark, since they were about five hundred feet below the surface.
In cotton mills such as Cornell Mill in Fall River, Massachusetts, children could be employed as spinners, doffers and sweepers. Girls were usually spinners; walking up and down the aisles brushing lint off the machines, and watching for breaks in the thread that had to be mended quickly. Usually a spinner was on her feet eleven to twelve hours a day, six days a week.
Sweatshops seem much worse, compared to a mill. Here girls and women would do various tasks such as making jewelry, sewing buttons, setting stones, sewing pieces or whole parts of clothing and so on. These tasks were either accomplished at home, with multiple other women, or in a small business located usually in a rundown building. Both places were fire hazards since they were not ventilated very well, and it either was too hot or too cold. Often places were infested with rats and poisonous chemicals were used in the glue. Children would easily get sick in these places and could pass on their disease to others. They were constantly coughing or sneezing on dolls or hats that they made.
In the 1900’s peo
ple started to realize that child labor really wasn’t a good thing. Unions had been fighting it since the 1830’s but it took until now to get any true enforcement of child labor laws. In 1842 Massachusetts limited their work day to ten hours, but again it was not in forced. The National Child Labor Committee began its movements in 1904, but it wasn’t until the United States Children’s Bureau, established in 1912, that significant change occurred. With these movements, and photographs of the work places taken by Lewis Hine, Americans began to be concerned with the children’s welfare, and this time the government took action. Congress passed laws in 1916 and 1918 that would apply to the well being of children nationally. But the Supreme Court decided that these laws were unconstitutional since they limited states rights and “denied children the freedom to contract work”. Congress made another attempt to create a national child labor law, but it was struck down due to the issue of federal power.
When the Great Depression hit in the 1930’s, the number of unemployed adults sky-rocketed. At that time, everyone was fighting for any type of job, even the low paying jobs children had. This, along with the extreme work of Unions, child labor began to slowly fade away on its own. Yet in 1938, President Roosevelt made it official when he signed the Fair Labor Standards Act. This created a minimum wage and maximum hours of work for all employees. He also was able to limit child labor to children under the age of sixteen were not allowed to work in manufacturing and mining companies. In 1949 that law was amended to include all businesses such as commercial agriculture, transportation, communications and public utilities.
Even though child labor is illegal in the United States today, it is still used in multiple places around the world. Seventy percent of kids are used for agricultural benefits and about fifteen million are in the manufacturing business. Asia is the main source of child labor, goods such as carpet, clothing, glass, and bricks are all created by children in the poorer classes of Asia. Unions have joined together to create an international movement, but even when child labor is illegal, it still occurs. In the United States less than five percent of children from the ages of five to fourteen are illegally at work, they have been mostly found harvesting fruits and vegetables for commercial agriculture. Yet the definition of work has changed a lot since the 1900’s. Today children thirteen and under are legally allowed to baby sit, mow lawns, deliver newspapers, and other small tasks. It is also legal for children to become professional actors or singers in the United States. Our country has expanded in many ways, we have created regulations to who can work and how much, but out definition and conditions of work have also changed.
Even though new ideas were being developed about the use of children for labor, conditions were still very bad. Normally the environment was cramped and hazardous. Coal mines were extremely dangerous; the breaker boys would sit on a wooden board watching coal and slate flow by through the coal chutes, once in a while, a boy would slip into the coal chute and be smothered to death. The air was thick with dust, and the coal would cut their fingers. In the mines themselves, there was always a fear of cave-ins or explosions. These conditions were completely dark, since they were about five hundred feet below the surface.
In cotton mills such as Cornell Mill in Fall River, Massachusetts, children could be employed as spinners, doffers and sweepers. Girls were usually spinners; walking up and down the aisles brushing lint off the machines, and watching for breaks in the thread that had to be mended quickly. Usually a spinner was on her feet eleven to twelve hours a day, six days a week.
Sweatshops seem much worse, compared to a mill. Here girls and women would do various tasks such as making jewelry, sewing buttons, setting stones, sewing pieces or whole parts of clothing and so on. These tasks were either accomplished at home, with multiple other women, or in a small business located usually in a rundown building. Both places were fire hazards since they were not ventilated very well, and it either was too hot or too cold. Often places were infested with rats and poisonous chemicals were used in the glue. Children would easily get sick in these places and could pass on their disease to others. They were constantly coughing or sneezing on dolls or hats that they made.
In the 1900’s peo
ple started to realize that child labor really wasn’t a good thing. Unions had been fighting it since the 1830’s but it took until now to get any true enforcement of child labor laws. In 1842 Massachusetts limited their work day to ten hours, but again it was not in forced. The National Child Labor Committee began its movements in 1904, but it wasn’t until the United States Children’s Bureau, established in 1912, that significant change occurred. With these movements, and photographs of the work places taken by Lewis Hine, Americans began to be concerned with the children’s welfare, and this time the government took action. Congress passed laws in 1916 and 1918 that would apply to the well being of children nationally. But the Supreme Court decided that these laws were unconstitutional since they limited states rights and “denied children the freedom to contract work”. Congress made another attempt to create a national child labor law, but it was struck down due to the issue of federal power.When the Great Depression hit in the 1930’s, the number of unemployed adults sky-rocketed. At that time, everyone was fighting for any type of job, even the low paying jobs children had. This, along with the extreme work of Unions, child labor began to slowly fade away on its own. Yet in 1938, President Roosevelt made it official when he signed the Fair Labor Standards Act. This created a minimum wage and maximum hours of work for all employees. He also was able to limit child labor to children under the age of sixteen were not allowed to work in manufacturing and mining companies. In 1949 that law was amended to include all businesses such as commercial agriculture, transportation, communications and public utilities.
Even though child labor is illegal in the United States today, it is still used in multiple places around the world. Seventy percent of kids are used for agricultural benefits and about fifteen million are in the manufacturing business. Asia is the main source of child labor, goods such as carpet, clothing, glass, and bricks are all created by children in the poorer classes of Asia. Unions have joined together to create an international movement, but even when child labor is illegal, it still occurs. In the United States less than five percent of children from the ages of five to fourteen are illegally at work, they have been mostly found harvesting fruits and vegetables for commercial agriculture. Yet the definition of work has changed a lot since the 1900’s. Today children thirteen and under are legally allowed to baby sit, mow lawns, deliver newspapers, and other small tasks. It is also legal for children to become professional actors or singers in the United States. Our country has expanded in many ways, we have created regulations to who can work and how much, but out definition and conditions of work have also changed.
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