Child Labor—An American Memory
By Janice Anders
Think About It
When you think of the social problems that have plagued America’s past, what do you think about? The Civil Rights Movement of the mid 20th Century probably comes to mind. Or the struggle women undertook in the early 20th Century to secure their right to vote. Or the slavery issue that sent our northern states into a long, bloody civil war with our southern states. But would you think of child labor? Probably not. Child labor is an often forgotten social problem that plagued America from its earliest days until it was finally outlawed by the Fair Labor Standards Act in the 1930s.
What is Child Labor?
“So what is child labor?” you may be asking yourself. Simply put, child labor is the employment of children in jobs. It can cover a wide range of jobs, not all of them bad. But for the most part, the American problem was horrible. It often involved placing children into inappropriate or even dangerous work environments. For example, during Industrialization, it was not uncommon for children to work right alongside adults from sunrise to sundown in factories and mills.
Some History
By the 1830s, America had laws on the books that restricted the employment of young children in certain industries, but these laws were lax and went unenforced. Adding to the problem was the view that child labor wasn’t a big problem. In rural areas, kids had always helped out on the farms, so thinking of children working in mills and factories didn’t raise many eyebrows. Also, many people believed that giving children the opportunity to work helped lower class families that could use the extra money to survive.
The Child Labor Reform Movement
Many Americans were growing concerned about the child labor problem in America, and they worked hard to reform child labor. In 1904, a group called the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) was established. It worked to raise awareness of child labor issues . Also in the early 1900s, a photographer named Lewis Hine took many pictures of children working in factories and mills. These photographs were viewed by the public and greatly swayed public opinion. Many states started passing stricter laws regarding the employment of minors. In the late 1930s, the labor reform movement had a major victory when Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act. Minors over age 16 could only work in non-hazardous occupations, and the age of 18 was set as the minimum age for working in hazardous jobs.
A Global Problem?
Although child labor has been all but eradicated in America, it continues to be a problem throughout the world. Many countries still allow the exploitation of children in a variety of jobs. There are many international organizations currently monitoring the child labor problem across the globe and working to stop the mistreatment of children everywhere. They send a very clear message to any country still allowing this horrible practice—stop child labor now!
Which of the following is the BEST objective summary of the article?
