Child Labor DBQ Did you know that 22,000 children were killed at work every year in the late 1800s? This is because of child labor. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, many children were hired to work in factory sweatshops. Often they worked under very treacherous conditions. Children in this time period often had long and tiring jobs, but there were actions taken to improve them. There were lots of dangerous working conditions for children in the late 1800’s. For example, “Boys began working as doffers when they were seven or younger. It was their job to remove the whirling bobbins when they were filled with thread and replace them with empty ones. Many of the youngsters worked barefoot. If they weren’t careful they could fall into the moving …show more content…
6. The aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid afor Later, there was a law passed about child labor. “The New York State legislature passed a law in 1874 stating that all school age children must attend school at least fourteen weeks per year”(Doc. 7. The aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid afor “The universally poor working conditions in the United States strengthened the growth and power of trade unions, who demanded an improvement in child labor laws at the federal level. The expansion of child labor laws in the United States was slow, with the first law passed in 1836 in Massachusetts, which required children under the age of 15 to attend school for a minimum of 3 months per year, and later limited children to work a maximum of 10 hours per day. However, these laws are rarely enforced. In addition to childrens’ rights, trade unions also demanded improved overall working conditions. By the late 1800s, workers had gained legal rights to safety inspections in factories that ensured safe conditions and improved guidelines for
In 1833, the Factory Act of 1833 was passed to improve the working conditions for children who labored in factories. A source reveals, “Young children were working very long hours in workplaces where conditions were often terrible,” (Document 10). As this came to the government’s attention, the act was produced by them in an attempt to lessen the abuse of working children, and to treat them more like children. First, the Factory Act limited the hours children could work in factories. The act states, “Children of 9-13 years to work no more than nine hours a day; children of 13-18 years to work no more than 12 hours a day,” (Document 10). Children were also not allowed to work at night. By having working hours reduced, children were able to fit in time to play, sleep, and get an education. It also reduced fatigue, as the children weren’t on their feet as long, and they got in more time to sleep. Secondly, within the act, there was a rule limiting the age children must be to work in factories. No children under the age of nine were allowed to work in the factories,” (Document 10). Although this decreased the amount of money coming in for each family, it allowed the children to get educations, have more free time, and help their
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
Children in the 1800’s and 1900’s had to work under dangerous working conditions. Many died and did not even get paid. Lots of children in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s were forced to work in dirty, hot and hazardous factories. People fought for freedom for children. Children have to go to work for 10-12 hours.
The first federal bill to end child labor was introduced in 1906 (saterdayeveningpost.com). It prevented the employment of child workers in factories and mines. “ ‘Mother’ Mary Jones gave lectures on the conditions and hazards of child labor” (Doc. 6) She was a huge contributor to making child labor laws and encouraged children to go on strike because they were being overworked. Samuel Gompers also helped by organizing national unions and local labor councils designed to educate others in his town about the working-class issues of child labor (Doc. 5.
Through these laws, children were required to attend school for a certain number of years. If children were in school, they would not be working in factories or other various jobs under harsh conditions. The primary reason that child labor reforms had little short term effects is due to the southern states refusing many of the laws and amendments that attempted to be passed. Several of the laws that were passed between 1900-1920 were deemed unconstitutional by the supreme court. Several years after that, congress managed to pass an Amendment in 1924 to limit and regulate labor for children under the age of 18.
In the 18 and 1900’s, industry was booming. Factories were popping up everywhere, causing the need for workers. Laborers worked long days for low pay. Immigrants were arriving by the thousands every day. Poverty was becoming common, so children began to work in factories, coal mines, and other places.
“The demand for labor grew, and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries many children were drawn into the labor force. Factory wages were so low that children often had to work to help support their families. However, child laborers rarely experienced their youth” (National Archives). Child labor was a “normal” thing to many people
First of all, children had to work brutal jobs at a young age. For example, The Textile Era Article states, “Roughly a quarter of all textile workers
One problem in the 1900s was child labor, which was not an uncommon sight in the factories. The children who worked at these factories would be exposed to harsh chemicals and could possibly lose and arm or limb to the machineries. Children as young as 16 years old would work in those unsafe, overcrowded factories instead of going to school to receive an education. To resolve the child labor issue, many states begun passing laws that made child labor illegal. As shown in the illustration in document 7, the state of Georgia passed the Georgia Child Labor laws, which took children out of Georgia Factories and into schools for education (document 7). Also shown in document 2, in
However, these reforms were not effective as the laws contained loopholes and enforcement was weak. Regulation of child labor was led by the National Child Labor Committee through the use of photos of child labor in addition to information that was spread using pamphlets and mail. Federal laws regarding child labor, such as the Keating-Owen Act that proposed to prevent children from working in industries that relied on interstate commerce, were declared unconstitutional. However, children under the age of 14 were banned from working in every state by 1929 and 36 states prohibited children under the age of 16 from working for more than 8 hours or at
Child labor becomes a major problem in the late-1700s and mid-1800s, the number of children younger than 16 years of age is working in the industry, leaving their homes to work in factories and mines which exposed them a dangerous and unhealthy conditions. Individuals and business viewed children as an affordable, achievable and renewable resource with a low wage. Even though many States or countries passed laws prohibiting child labor. The worst kind of child labor still rampantly exists in our country; despite the continuous fights against it because laws were not enforced enough that child labor still exists today.
The reasons why it was children was because they were small and would not think of fighting for better pay. Children were not only forced to work, but they were treated harshly as well. In fact, according to “Child Labor in America 1908-1912”, it explains a variety of jobs that
Child labor has changed over the decades. American society has progressed overall as a country. Although in the 1900’s, there were laws in place to protect children, they were not strictly enforced. The struggles of a working minor in the 1900’s, the working minor today, and the laws that revolutionized the working conditions for minors. Working as a minor in the late 1890’s through early 1900’s was difficult.
Child Labor enslaved, injured, and separated children during the 1800s and the 1900s in the United States of America. The United States survey in 1870, forever changed the opinions people had on child labor. The survey reported 750,000 child workers under the age of fifteen; this information did not include children who assisted their family’s business or helped out on the family farm. By 1911, the rates of children labor seemed to rapidly increase when over two million children under the age of sixteen worked beyond twelve-hour shifts for six days a week. These American children worked long hours in corrupt and hazardous conditions to bring home diminutive wages.
As early as the 1830’s Child Labor in the U.S. was already starting to arise. In rural communities child labor on the farm was common, children being employed in factories or mills didn’t seem to be much of a concern to people. In 1830 laws were passed prohibiting children to be hired in an industrial or factory type setting. By 1800, some states passed a large amount of laws prohibiting child labor. Often times these laws did not apply to immigrants so they were often abused on the immigrants which lead to the immigrants living in poor places working for long hours for very little pay. Immigrant or not, child labor back in the 1800’s was a way of life.