The Industrial Revolution in the United States, which took place during the years 1760-1840, was a remarkable turning point in history. During this era, many advances were made, including the increased use of steam power, the invention of machine tools and the development of factories. While these improvements contributed greatly to the economic success of our country, this progress also resulted in a very unfortunate consequence. Child labor increased greatly during the Industrial Revolution and led to disease, injury and even death for many children. There were many factors that brought about child labor during the Industrial Revolution. One of its leading causes was the extensive poverty faces by many families. During this time, the average income for adults was very low and there was no minimum wage. Many parents felt like they had to choice but to send their children to work, in order to help put food on the table. A second cause of child labor was market demand. Employers often preferred to hire children because they were less costly than their adult counterparts and could be dispensed of easily if their need for workers decreased. In addition, employers did not have to worry about children forming groups to make more demands and protect themselves. A third determinant for child labor was the lack of educational opportunities. In many areas, there were no local schools within traveling distance. Also education was considered too costly and purposeless for many Eichler 2 people. For countless families, joining the labor force was a much more productive way for their children to spend their time. ("The causes and consequences of child labor"). Child labor had extremely detrimental effects on chil... ... middle of paper ... ...ince and educate people that child labor should be illegal. Lewis Hine took thousands of these photos which were published in newspapers and progressive publications (Lewis Hine's Photography and The End of Child Labor in the United States). The decline of child labor began when the laws related to child labor started turning in full effect. But especially in 1879, when the general assembly started to impose fines on employers who employed children in dance halls, saloons, prostitution and public exhibitions. Other factors also helped lead to the decline of child labor. New machinery that was too complex for a child to run, forced employers to hire semiskilled adults instead of children (Foner and Garraty). But maybe the most important cause for the wane of child labor was the advocates that helped to expose the cruelties placed upon the innocent young children.
The aging of the generation of child factory workers improved the quality of adult factory workers and created a reserve pool of adults with factory experience. This pool of adults is particularly significant for men. As a child worker, they were exposed to many different positions and so learned a great deal of experience. Not only were the children fulfilling the basic factory needs, but were creating a more experienced labor force for the future. No longer where adults had to learn how to use machinery when entering the factory market but instead had worked in textiles during their childhood so had already obtained the human capital needed to work.
Child labor started during the industrial revolution, cheap labor was needed, and the machines could be operated by children. Many children worked because of poverty, they were forced to work to help out their families. The lack of government regulations that enforced safety standards or that said how long the children were to work. They would work very long hours with nothing to show for it. Since children were so small they could fit into small spaces that the adult workers could
In 1900, there were 1.75 million child workers in the United States alone, that was 18 percent of all American workers at the time. In southern cotton mills 25 percent of the employees were below the age of fifteen, with half of them being below the age of 3 (History.com). Child Labor is the the use of children in industry or business when considered illegal or inhumane. Child Labor is a social issue that was at its peak during the Industrial Revolution and still occurs today, but has declined drastically over the years due to the unions against it and laws put in affect.
Many states were involved and enacted laws by the 1920s. Overall 36 states set laws against children, under the age of 16, working in factories at night or over eight hours. As a result, a lot people began to see the negative sides of child labor and advocated for children. More kids went to school for free and worked until they were 16. Thanks to the International Labor Organization, they’ve kept an eye out to regulate work since the twentieth century.
These comforts and conveniences included better and more developed homes, cheaper clothes, more tools and utensils to work with, and faster and cheaper travel. One of the most important concerns of this time period is the effect of child labor. Document 7 states: Large machines and rising demand for products quickly led to the growth of the factory system. The building of these factories led to the hiring of massive numbers of child workers, the youngest at 11 to 12 years old.
It would be hard to imagine what mill life would have been like if it were not for American photographer, Lewis Hine. Hine was influential in bringing public awareness to many social issues of his time. Born in a rural town in Wisconsin in 1874, Hine dedicated his life to capturing America’s cultural landscape through the people in his photographs. He was there when thousands of immigrants took their first steps on American soil at Ellis Island. In World War One he captured on film the heroic efforts of the Red Cross (“Lewis Wickes Hine”). But most importantly for this paper, are his accounts of people in the mill villages and textile factories in rural America. Through some of his pictures, we will explore life in southern mill villages in the nineteen hundreds.
Many businesses and factories hired children because they were easier to exploit; they could be paid less for more work in dangerous conditions. Plus, their small size made many children idea for working with small parts or fitting into small spaces. Children as young as four could be found working in factories, though most were between eight and twelve. Despite the economic gains made by the business that employed them, many children suffered in the workplace. The industrial setting caused many health problems for the children that, if they lived long enough, they would carry with them for the rest of their lives. Children were also more likely to face accidents in the workplace, often caused by fatigue, and many were seriously injured or killed. Despite efforts by reformers to regulate child labor, it wasn’t until the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 that children under 14 were prohibited from
Forms of labor included child slavery that existed throughout American History. As industrialization moved workers from farms and home workshops into urban areas and factory work. Children were often preferred, because factory owners viewed them as more manageable, cheaper, and less likely to start a rebellion.2 Growing opposition to children in the North caused many factories to move to South. By early 1900’s, states varied considerably in whether they had implemented child labor standards.3Child labor peaked in the nineteenth century. American children worked in large numbers in places like mines, glass factories, textiles, agriculture, canneries, home industries, and as newsboys, messengers, shoe shiners and peddlers....
Factories were utilizing children to do the hard work. They employed children as young as five or six to work as many as twenty hours a day. According to Document C, children worked in factories to build up muscles and having good intellect in working rather than getting an education. They became a different person rather than conventional children. There were additionally health issues due to child labor: rapid skeletal growth, greater risk of hearing loss, higher chemical absorption rates, and developing ability to assess risks. Progressive Era reformers believed that child labor was detrimental to children and to society. They believed that children should be protected from harmful environments, so they would become healthy and productive adults. In 1912, Congress created the Children’s Bureau to benefit children. The Keating-Owen Act was passed in 1916 to freed children from child labor only in industries that engaged in interstate commerce. However, it was declared unconstitutional sinc...
... this time is self-explanatory, the cost of labor had gone up along with the prices of everything else and child labor was significantly cheap (3-4). Children were sent into fields for twelve to thirteen hours a day picking fruits, cotton and tobacco. Some children delivered the newspaper on bike which is still a common job, only children back then did it hours on end tirelessly. Although the industrial revolution was almost 200 years ago (1820-1870) the influence it had on America is significant; imagine if children would have stayed in school during that time rather than going out and working extensive hours in field or factories. Do you think if children were never exposed to harsh working environments then, that today, child labor would be a problem? Many think our ancestors are to blame and others say children have been working since the days of the Egyptians.
Child labor is nothing but cheap labor. The big companies loved cheap labor because then they could make an item for not very much money, and make a huge profit margin. Fried continues to state how cheap the labor was, “One glass factory in Massachusetts was fenced with barbed wire ‘to keep the young imps inside.’ These were boys under 12 who carried loads of hot glass all night for a wage of 40 cents to $1.10 per night.” Unlike, children today who are in bed sleeping by 8 pm each night, these children had to stay up all night working to make just enough income for their families.
The Industrial Revolution restructured the employer-employee relationship into an impersonal association exhibited by indifference to the quality of life of the worker. Children were especially exploited because they could be hired for lower wages and were made to work equally long days (Miller). Around the 1830s, children constituted about one-third of the labor in New England (Illinois Labor History Society). The conditions of workers as a whole necessitated action on behalf of the rights of laborers.
The kids under the age of fourteen were sent to go assist with the textile workers. They then would beat and verbally abuse the child. And if children would show up late, they would be weighted. Weighted means to put a very heavy weight on the child's back and have them walk up and down the factory aisles for hours, so other children can learn from it. This then resulted in back and neck injuries. (“Child Labor in Factories”) While this all seems really cruel, there were many positives that came out of child labor. Children were still able to contribute to their families. Money was a big struggle, and it had a major impact for poor families. Children were also getting a wide range of opportunities and work experiences for the future ahead. Although it might not be the best way to get experience, they were still helping out there families and showing respect towards them. This shows that during the Industrial Revolution, children were used harshly for labor, and the positives and negatives out of
Child labor has been around for hundreds of years. “Children of poor and working-class families had worked for centuries before industrialization” (Tuttle 1). Before children were needed in factories they worked on family farms tending the fields or animals, as time went on families moved from farms to the cities where children were still required to work. Children worked for numerous reasons some were that their parents couldn’t work so the responsibilities were passed to the children; others included the simple need for more money to feed the entire family. Large businesses welcomed the increasing number of child workers, for the business it meant cheap labor and cheap laborers that could be replaced easily. The exact number of child workers is unknown and has been estimated as stated in multiple articles such as this, “By 1900 over two million children, mostly immigrant children under the age of sixteen, were employed” (Wagner 1). Parents wanted their children to work as soon as possible so they could get as much income as possible, parents often did illegal things to get their children to work, “Boy’s parents often presented a fake birth certificate with an altered date o...
Factory and mine owners exploited the situation by offering families a means to make more money, by putting their children to work. Industry profited from this arrangement by saving money, since child labor was more “cost effective”. According to one historian, Clark Nardinelli, “in 1835 56,000 children under the age of thirteen were working in textile factories alone. By 1874, the number of child laborers in the market hit its peak with over 122,000 children between the ages of 10 and thirteen working in textile factories (4).” ... ...