The Role Of Children During The Industrial Revolution

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In early times, children were seen as property of their fathers. During the Industrial Revolution from about 1760 to 1840, children were part of the labor force. Indentured servants, including children, made up an important part of the labor force when the North American colonies were first formed. Their small bodies were just the right size to fix machinery or work in small spaces such as mine shafts of chimneys. Safety was not a primary consideration. It wasn’t until the Great Depression and the competition between adults and children for the job, that the labor laws were amended to exclude children. In 1938, congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act, prohibited children under 14 to work. (scholastic.com) In the 1940s John Caffey noticed

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