Child Labor In America

Child labor was a big deal and parents have to worry about their child not starving. The food use to be sitting out. If you would it; you would most likely become sick. The kids didn’t get any free time because they were working Child labor law was passed so that only a limited age can work. They would also low pay them for working. In the article (A History Of Child Labor) it states “In the United States it took many years to outlaw child labor. By 1899, 28 states had passed laws regulating child labor. Many efforts were made to pass national child labor law. The U.S. Congress passed two laws, in 1918 and 1922, but the supreme Court declared both unconstitutional. In 1924, Congress proposed a constitutional amendment prohibiting child labor, but the states did not ratify it.” Children coming home late is a problems because the crimes in the city.

During the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s child labor was a social issue that developed in the United States. In the early 1900’s, so many children ages 16 and under were working in American mine and factories. Our kids should not be forced to work at such an early age, they need education and a good childhood that they will always remember. Some children that are as young as 4 years old are being forced to work in crammed, dangerous factories. These factories are full of poisonous fumes and diseases that can obviously kill. Kids as young as 13 are being forced to work around 13 hours a day. Working these 13 hours is exactly what most adults are working at the time. Kids are also earning a lower wage since they are minors, employers

Throughout history, children have always worked, either as apprentices or servants. However, child labor reached a whole new scale during the time period of the Industrial Revolution. Throughout the time frame of late 1800s-early 1900s, children worked long hours in dangerous factory conditions for very little wages. They were considered useful as laborers because their small stature allowed them to be cramped into smaller spaces, and they could be paid less for their services. Many worked to help support their families, and by doing so, they forwent their education. Numerous nineteenth century reformers and labor groups sought to restrict child labor and to improve working conditions.

Throughout the 1700’s and the early 1800’s child labor was a major issue in American society. Children have always worked for family businesses whether it was an agricultural farming situation or working out of a family business in some type of workplace. This was usually seen in families of middle or lower class because extra help was needed to support the family. Child labor dramatically changed when America went through the Industrial Revolution. When America’s industrial revolution came into play, it opened a new world to child labor. Children were now needed to work in factories, mills, and mines. These were not ordinary jobs for young children, these jobs required much time, effort, and hard work. “American

Child labor was a cruel and unfair way of using children in unnecessary situations. It was debated for a countless number of years whether child labor was a social problem or a political problem. Children were responsible for completing very dangerous, rigorous, and demanding jobs. Most jobs for the children were completed in factories, farms, and coal mines. Subsequently, the working conditions for the children were not healthy, and it led to life threatening situations. Many would get seriously injured or killed. Some worked until exhaustion and fell asleep on the job, and would experience harsh consequences. Generally speaking, child labor drastically changed the way owners ran their businesses during the Industrial Revolution. The ruthless ways of child labor were never changed for the better until different Acts and Laws were put into place. People were concerned with the social and physical wellbeing of working children in Britain during the Industrial Revolution.

But child labor also provided the help needed in farming families and communities. Child labor was needed in the rural farming areas, dictated by essential daily chores and the requirements of the agricultural seasons. Poor families relied upon child labor in order to attain basic necessities and living essentials. The jobs allocated to children depended on their age and whether they were boys or girls. Farm work could be hard, but working conditions were not dangerous and at least allowed kids to breath the fresh air. The use of child labor, and the risks and working conditions of children, underwent a enormous change in the 1800's. Industry developed on an extensive scale and the mechanization of industry resulted in the abuse of children who were forced to work in terrible conditions in factories, mines and mills. This article provides the history of child labor in America during the 1800's, the following links provide facts and information about events that were particularly relevant to the subject of child

Child labor was a major issue at the time especially in factories since children had no voice and labor was cheap. Children would be paid less than adults and less likely to break out in strike. They could also fit in tight spaces. Children were not even able to learn they had to work all the time (Aboukhadijeh). Since work deprived them of an education most children did not know their ABC’s. Without an education a new middle class of uneducated would be formed (Aboukhadijeh). Another problem children faced was their health. Typically people did not care about their health this quote explains that “children should not be allowed to labor in the factories from morning till night, without any time for healthy recreation and mental culture,” for it “endangers their well being and health” (Child). Finally this was resolved in 1832 by the New England unions (Child). In the United States today, child labor remains a problem in agriculture, especially among migrant farm families. It is also an issue that comes up in protests of United States companies who buy products made by child laborers abroad

Children would breathe hot air, would have sweat dripping down their faces and would taste the dirt and salty tears. Their backs and every other part of their body would start aching by the age of 14. This is what happened during the early 1900's when child labor existed. Families in the early 1900's (also known as the Progressive Era) would work their own children for 16 hours a day in awful conditions with very little pay. The abolishment of child labor made modern children not have to feel the pain that children would experience. The end of child labor in the United States affected children today because if the end of child labor never happened then child labor would still be a tremendous problem in the United States today.

As the industrial revolution emerged, this is when the number of child workers increased significantly. “it indicates that at least 18 percent of these children were employed in 1900” (Trattner 3). At the time, this was a large number of the American workforce despite their age. On the other hand, children whose families were impoverished make up a large majority of the eighteen percent.

Child labor was used in many factories and industries because some families needed more money. This shows how some families depend on their children and parents going to work to help them make a better standard of living during the Great Depression. In the article “Child Labor” it states, “Employment of children was banned during the Great Depression (1929–39) due not only to moral outrage but also to declining demand for child labor.” This states how child labor was very frowned upon by other citizens, but was needed for other families to survive during the hardships of the Great Depression. Labor was very hard for workers because they would have to work long hours for little pay. There was an act created called the “Fair Labors Standards Act”. This act allowed a 40 cent per hour pay by 1945 and banned child labor in all businesses. This act helped workers get more rights from

Unions, committees, and organizations led by women and middle class workers were created in order to raise awareness, standards, and conditions for these children that were working. “These organizations later formed into the National Consumers’ League in 1899 and the National Child Labor Committee in 1904” (Child Labor in U.S. History). The National Child labor Committee not only focused on ending child labor, but also providing them with free education (Child Labor in U.S. History). One of the first movements was in 1832, where the New England union condemned child labor. “The New England Association of Farmers, Mechanics and Other Workingmen resolve that ‘Children should not be allowed to labor in the factories from morning till night, without any time for healthy recreation and mental culture,’ for it ‘endangers their well-being and health.’ ”

Children in the Workplace? Imagine working long days, in unsafe conditions, and risking your life for unfair pay. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, children were working to help support their families and they were not getting an education at the time. Child labor during the Industrial revolution was unfair because children were overworked, underpaid, and uneducated but there were laws passed to help this.

At the beginning of the industrial revolution in America, laws that prevented children from working was not established, and this allowed businesses to utilized children as an inexpensive form of labor. By the 1900s there were over one million children working in the labor force. Most of those young workers were from a poor or immigrant family. They were put to work at an early age usually between five to sixteen years old. In the article, “The History of Child Labor During the American Industrial Revolution” by Jennifer Wagner, discusses about how most of these youngsters worked in unsafe conditions in:

In the early twentieth century it was very common for minors to work extremely long hours in industrial practices. It was not for nothing though, many families’ income depended on that earned by their children. Because of this, the public concern about the results this kind of work produced for children began to increase tremendously. Although there were many people that were supporters of working minors, the advocates for child labor laws presented that minors who worked those sixty hour weeks were, in fact, not able to get a proper education and live a necessary childhood. The most important worry was the physical risk as children working in industries had large accident rates. As a result, some states passed laws restricting child labor,

Child labor is when children are working long hours instead of playing as children should. There are many different reasons and causes of child labor. In some countries, child labor is considered to be a cultural norm. From the time children are old enough to be taught a skill, they are often trained in that field and put to work in order to help provide for their families. Other times, it is the sheer exploitation of a family’s struggle and desperation that leads these children into the industry. With an approximate total of over 215 million children working in the industry today, child labor has become a significant problem. Although it is most prevalent in third-world and underdeveloped countries, it is perpetuated by the growing demand for manufactured products in countries such as our own. This constant increase in the demand and production of these manufactured products often leads the product’s owners towards significant income or loss, depending on the success of their products. These manufacturing companies in turn pursue the cheapest form of labor available to them in order to conserve more funds. Because child labor is the cheapest form of labor available to these manufacturers, greed and perpetuated cultural norms blinds ethical reasoning, thus the problem persists. As there will likely never cease to be a demand for manufactured products, this cause is not necessarily one that can be solved. As the outsourcing for this constant