Children During The Industrial Revolution: Child Labor

Throughout human history, children were thought of as servants, apprentices, or a means to ease workload. Children would work on the family farm or a family business. They could be easily taken advantage of compared to adults. The exploitation of children for labor without concern for their education or welfare was common and even the norm. No special concern about children existed. By 1890, 18% of the labor force consisted of worker between the ages of ten and fifteen. (6/) But the progressive reformers between 1890-1920 sought to change this. This period of time is refereed to as the Progressive Era. The reforms were a turning point in history for improving living standards and acknowledging basic human decency for majority of children in

The industrial revolution was a time of immense progress. It marked an era of technological advancements and a changing society, yet also a period smeared with unfair and unsafe working conditions. The history is filled with stories of people suffering, being injured, and even dying, all in the process of creating goods for the changing consumer culture. Thousands looked past the suffering, condoled themselves with the goods they purchased at economical prices all at the expense of the working class, a class that had no other choice than to work in the dark, dangerous factories to feed their family. While the consumer culture in this time could look past the anguish of those in the working class, progressives could not. They watched children

Moral obligation carries a variety of meanings but it’s simply means a duty which one owns to another and needs to act upon it. “Brother’s keeper” was one famous speech created by Eugene Debs at Girard Kansas, 1908. Eugene Debs was an American political leader who was commonly known as a socialist. He focuses the pain that people have to endure and states that we should have the moral to help. Eugene Debs’s statement emphasizes collectivism and others have moral obligation to help others who are in need. Eugene Debs’s argument may be true in some cases, although most of the time we would help others if it does not cause harm to us.

During the Progressive time, the main goal was to expand the government to a social setting instead of a political environment. African Americans were considered inferior to the white culture. Child labor was seen in all factories, they would work in the cruelest conditions for little to no pay. During this time, it was Congress’ decision whether or not child labor was legal or not. In present day, African American have a lot more freedom than written in history. However, they still get racially discriminated against in some surroundings. Child labor laws have been abolished since the Progressive Era and work for children is illegal until the age of sixteen where the child has the option of working or not. Progressives wanted to make American

As the rate of industrialization in America grew during the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries, child labor became more and more common. The rapid growth of the economy and the vast amounts of poor immigrants during the Industrial Age in America justified the work of children as young as the age of three. By 1900, over two million children were employed. However, the risks of involving child labor greatly outweighed the positives; child labor was inhumane, cruel, and caused physical deformities among children. Children typically worked in coal mines, mills, and factories which contained many life-threatening hazards. For instance, “Francis Lance, 5 years old, 41 inches high” shows a five year old boy risking his

Tuttle,Carolyn. Edited: Robert Whaples “ Child labor during the British industrial revolution.” .EH.Net Encyclopedia. August 14, 2001.

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal rights for women. The ERA was originally written by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman. In 1923, it was introduced in the Congress for the first time. The ERA has always been highly controversial regarding the meaning of equality for women. Middle-class women generally were supportive. Those speaking for the working class were strongly opposed, arguing that employed women needed special protections regarding working conditions and hours. In 1972, it passed both houses of Congress and was submitted to the state legislatures for ratification. It seemed headed for quick approval until Phyllis Schlafly mobilized conservative women

The Progressive Era was a period of time that ranged from 1890 to 1920. During this time many reforms were made in local areas, state and federal levels. Using evidence, the Progressive area proves to be limited given the overall affects of segregation, racism, child labor and the Electoral College and careless employers. The successful components of the era are commerce laws and women’s rights and Chosen Representation.

“Child labor and poverty are inevitably bound together and if you continue to use the labor of children as the treatment for the social disease of poverty, you will have both poverty and child labor to the end of time” (Grace Abbott). The issue of child labor has been around for centuries. Its standing in our world has been irrevocably stained in our history and unfortunately, our present. Many great minds have assessed this horrific issue and its effect on our homes, societies, and ultimately, our world.

Businessmen and factory owners could hire children because they could pay them less than women, which women got paid even less than men. On average, the children would be paid about a dime for a ten to fifteen hour long day. These children were working with heavy, steel machines, making their jobs so dangerous that they would lose fingers, toes, limbs, or even their lives. Also, little education is seen “In the urban tenement picture from Encarta Online Encyclopedia, where the children are not at school. This could mean it is a weekend, but the ration is slim. The laundry hanging shows it was definitely during the day, so it was around the time school would be in”(Document 6). Children like those in the photo were missing out on an education that could broaden their thinking and make them suitable for a career. Instead of raising up businessmen and women, doctors, or inventors, children who only cared about work and providing were produced. These robots of children only thought about working hard and not giving up, not about opening their minds to knowledge. So really, this means that the Industrial Revolution produced

Industrial Revolution was a time when, mass production took place in England around 1790 and ended in 1870. They employed children because they were small, they could pay them less money, and therefore made more profit themselves. The conditions of the factories were not good for the children and it had a smell that was unbearable. The dust, soot and oil suffocated them half of the time, they were whipped for sitting down, suffered from thirst and hunger, and many more disturbing things. The children would get injured often when fingers were crushed and arms were broken, some girls got black marks on their skin from being whipped several times. Their parents would not come in due to the fact they didn’t want them losing their

We live in a society that can sometimes be so reliant on products that we sometimes can’t imagine what life was like before machines. The first machines were created during a time called the Industrial Revolution which was a turning point in history. People were finally able to mass produce different products. Before this time, people had businesses that could be run at your home since you were making products by hand and you didn’t need much space. The Industrial Revolution introduced new machines that were sometimes massive in size and allowed production to move much faster and more efficiently. Since these machines were so big, people began to rent out large buildings to store these machines and run their businesses. These buildings are

Child labor during the 18th and 19th century did not only rapidly develop an industrial revolution, but it also created a situation of difficulty and abuse by depriving children of edjucation, good physical health, and the proper emotional wellness and stability.

Child labor was a great problem in the Industrial Revolution. Factory owners usually hired women and children rather than men. They said that men expected higher wages, and they suspected that they were more likely to rebel against the company. Women and children were forced to work from six in the morning to seven at night, and this was when they were not so busy. They were forced to arrive on time and they couldn’t fall behind with their work because if they did they were whipped and punished. Child labor was a great concern in the Industrial revolution but very few people did something to stop it.

Child labor. A topic widely frowned upon, may be beneficial when executed properly. Employing children can possibly provide stability and safety to a child, and opportunities for their communities to advance. In its simplest form, child labor can be beneficial to communities and families when laws and rights are respected.