What is child labor?
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The United States has been traditionally seen as a land of freedom, peace, and equality. However, it shares a distasteful piece of history with the rest of the world, one that has not quite ended and will realistically probably not end for a long time to come. Child labor is a practice that has permeated societies throughout history, and it has had its say with regard to American history.
As early as the Colonial Period, children were used for work on farms and plantations. The first law pertaining to child labor was not introduced until 1836, when Massachusetts required that all children under the age of 15 who were currently working in factories attend school for at least three months out of the year. As the 1900s dawned, the Northern half of the U.S. began to openly oppose the practice of child labor in factories, which resulted in the transfer of many factories to the South. Several anti-labor unions sprang up during this time, but nothing conclusive occurred until the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. This revolutionary piece of legislature set the standards for minimum age of employment and hours allowed to work.
Children were popularly used for factory work because of their small hands and stature, which allowed them to do work that was usually too delicate for adults. Newspaper boys and shoe-shiners on the side of the road became a common sight, and as these were unskilled jobs, children were paid much less than adults, assuming they received any sort of wage at all. As they continued to work in factory settings, serious health issues soon began to arise. These young workers were usually underweight, suffered from irregular spine curvature and stunted growth, and many were afflicted by ravaging diseases.
In 1904, a group known as the National Child Labor Committee began taking an active stance in the abolishment of child labor. Congress granted them a charter in 1907, and teams of investigators began to gather evidence, such as photographs, of the child workers and with them organized exhibitions to rally the public. One of the more talented photographers of the time was a man by the name of Lewis Hine. His portrayal of child labor is one of the most honest viewpoints available, and his work was intrinsically important to attracting public attention.
Child labor, while not as widespread as in the time of the Industrial Revolution, continues to be an issue in the United States and, indeed, in other countries around the globe. Individuals and unions continue to fight this practice, but it will require the dedication of many more to ensure that child labor does not place any more of a painful mark on history than it already has.
For more information on child labor, and on what you can do to stop it, please peruse the following links.
- Child Labor in U.S. History
- Child Labor and Lewis Hine Photographs
- Lesson Plan: History of American Child Labor
- Child Labor Exhibit at the Library of Congress
- American Labor Studies Center
- Is there child labor in the U.S.?
- US Department of Labor - International Child Labor Standards
- National Archives - Child Labor
- National Archives - Eyewitness Child Labor
- Child Labor and Social Protest - Lesson Plan and Links
- Pieces of the Past: Child Labor
- Child Labor and Child Labor Reform in American History
- Child Labor in America: History, Policy, and Legislative Issues
- Child Labor Resources
- Child Labor: Additional Resources
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