Danger: Children at Work
During the late 1800s, a great change took place in the United States. People moved from farms into cities in huge numbers. They wanted to work in factories, where they could earn steady paychecks. Whole families moved to look for jobs. But there were very few laws to protect those who found work. There weren’t even laws that kept children from working very long hours.
Factory owners, in fact, preferred to hire children. They were easier to manage. They were less likely to go on strike. They worked for much lower wages than their parents. Often, their smaller hands could better handle certain machines and tools. Their smaller bodies could fit into small spaces in factories and mines.
By 1900, 18 percent of all American workers were under the age of sixteen. That’s more than two million children. Some children worked in mines, mills, and canneries. Others delivered messages, sold newspapers, and shined shoes. In Southern cotton mills, 25 percent of the workers were under fifteen. Half of those were below age twelve. Some of these children worked twelve hours a day in hot, enclosed places filled with soot, dust, and loud noise. Many worked six days a week to earn a dollar. They had little time for school or play and often became ill. Yes, the United States was beginning to hum with industry. But shamefully, its engines were driven in part by tiny hands.
Things began to change in the early 1900s. By then, adult workers all over the country were demanding better treatment. States such as Massachusetts and New York had already passed laws limiting children’s workdays to ten hours. The laws also barred children from certain jobs. But change came slowly. It wasn’t until 1904 that the National Child Labor Committee formed, led by reformers including Jane Addams, Florence Kelley, and Lillian Wald. In 1924 and 1937, Congress passed federal laws to regulate child labor. But the states would not ratify them. The states held on to their own laws, which varied a lot from state to state.
Finally, in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed. This new law set minimum ages of sixteen for work during school hours, fourteen for certain jobs after school, and eighteen for dangerous work. It also limited the number of hours that children could work in a week.
It’s hard to believe that young children were once lowered into coal mines to work twelve-hour days. And there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. There are still parts of the country where children work hard (on farms, for example). But our current laws help keep children in school and protect them from hard labor.
