Child Labor In The 1800s

Jonathan

Ocana

P.4

Mrs. Shires A Child’s Job Child labor is epidemic that affects many children around the world. Around 168 million children around the world are in child labor. The peak of child labor, in United States, was in the 1800s. In the 1800s The Industrial Revolution began in the United States. During the Industrial Revolution the demand of handmade good rose, but the manufacturers could not satisfy the demand. So engineers made machines to help the manufacturers create their product. Many inventions were created at the time so many creators built factories to fit space for the machines. But, they soon realized Child labor had it’s benefits and some disadvantages. Many people Child labor had many benefits in the 1800s. Many factory owners had child laborers instead of adults. Only for one reason, children were able to get paid less and the children were able to fit in smaller places (Whaples,1) . Children were a lot more energetic the adults so therefore work more hours. Many people debate that the children were being too lazy and were not doing anything. People thought that it was a great idea to make kids work. So instead of having slaves, the people had children to do the work. The plantation and factory owners now had two types of labor workers to have. This help them alot since the demand

Many people hated the way many of the children had to work in unsafe conditions and not get an education. Many advocates spoke up to stop child labor, such as Grace Abbott. Abbott protected the incoming immigrants and children from being in those kind of conditions (Hobbs,1). The factory owners hated this kind of act because this made them lose the children workers. What the advocates hated the most was how the children were treated. The owners treated the children the same as the slaves. The children thought the same to they thought they were just property not actual living