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
At this time in history, there were “two million children under the age of sixteen” working to provide for their families, and some kids beginning labor at the tender ages of “six and seven years (in the cotton
In the industrial age many laws were enacted as of late, because of the rise and fall of companies taking power from government and state, many laws common place in the modern world, at that time were slowly gaining weight and of the time were detritus to the human society. As of what Elizabeth Bentley was questioned on, “C: You are considerably deformed in person as a consequence of this labor? B: Yes I am" (doc. 7). Kids working in the factories, one by one, suffered the consequences, and melancholy atmosphere that had personified the liabilities upon their human nature, burning through the skin, the bones, and the muscle that worked long hours, for the minimal sum. That minimal sum would only be a small fraction of the amount needed to feed and pay the expenses of the family.
During this time period it was not just adults that were working. In order to support their families, children were sent to work as well. The new places of work such as mines, factories, or garment shops were wanting workers that could reach into small spaces and could do small tedious jobs , there is where the children come in.
One of the tolls industrialization took was that children were being forced to work.
One of the negative factors regarding the Industrial Revolution in our society is child labor. Children were taken out of there homes to work in factories and farms.
Child Labor in the Early 1900's There was a time in America when it was common for children to be working intense amounts in the factories of the labor industry. By 1904, 50,000 workers in the South were under the age of 16 with 20,000 under the age of 12. Having children working in the industry was dangerous and unreasonable and resulted in countless accidents in the workspace. In the early 1900's, children who worked in the labor industry were exploited as they were forced to work long hours, were deprived of an education, and ultimately put their lives at risk until The National Child Labor Committee began advocating for reform.
While employers and management worked in set hours, workers had to work up to 12 hours a day, with very few, if any, breaks, such as in the Pittsburgh Bessemer Steel Company in 1881. These long work hours harmed workers' health and relationship within their family. Still, the money earned was hardly sufficient to support a household. This coerced women and children into the industrial system; by 1900, around 1.7 million children labored in the system. Industrial lives were far from safe.
Many parents needed their wages to make ends meet. In Document C from The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets by Jane Adams 1909, Jane states how children enter factory life when the law allows them to, and children end up not having childhoods. She writes that people are so caught up with the marvelous achievements of their industry and end up forgetting the children who have to work to help out as well. In Document G, a court case Hammer v. Dagenhart 1918, the father of two sons one under fourteen years old and another one between fourteen and sixteen explains his concern about the exploitation of his children in a cotton mill. He says its concerning that children are allowed to work more than eight hours a day and six days a week.
I 'm glad you have entrusted me to give away one million dollars to Progressive reforms. I had no idea there was an underside to America. I thought everything was going well because industry was booming. I found out more about the reforms from reading articles written by muckrakers. I read about deforestation, child labor, women’s suffrage, and food safety.
Working conditions for children were frequently hazardous and unsanitary. As seen in document 2, the working conditions for these children in the factories were deplorable. They were filthy, dusty, and cramped, making them an unsuitable environment for children to spend so much time in every day. When forced to work in these factories, children faced numerous health issues, and some even died. Child labor began to decline as the labor and reform movements grew and labor standards in general improved, giving working people and other social reformers more political clout to demand legislation regulating 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.
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.
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. In the late 1700 's and early 1800 's, power-driven machines replaced hand labor for making most manufactured items. Many of America 's factories needed a numerous amount of workers for a cheap salary. Because of this, the amount of child laborers have been growing rapidly over the early 1800s.
In the small towns they at least worked for their families but in the city the worked harder, in harsher conditions and for a huge company. This resulted in more hours of work and more sickness because of how hard they worked. Child labor is still present today. More than 59,600 of the workers in the U.S.A are under 14 and many other countries have it worst. We can see how child labor was present in the industrial revolution, but we can also see how it is still present today.
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. Keeping children off of the streets is a benefit having to do with child labor.