Unit 7 - Informational Milestones

Passage 1

Children Who Work

1 Before 1900, many children in the United States did not go to school. Instead, they worked hard every day. They worked in factories that made clothing. They worked on farms that grew food. Their small hands fixed parts of machines that adults could not reach. They picked fruits and vegetables. They carried tools and materials while machines roared and dust filled the air. Their bosses did not pay them well. For example, one glass factory in Massachusetts paid young boys forty cents a night to carry hot glass. The boys worked for ten hours without stopping. The conditions were very dangerous.

2 Some people thought this was wrong. Religious leaders, labor groups, and teachers worked together to change the laws. Newspapers published stories. The photographer Lewis Hine took pictures of children working in factories and fields. A writer in England named Charles Dickens wrote a book called Oliver Twist. Oliver was a boy who worked in a factory. The book made many people realize that child labor could be cruel. Slowly, people changed their minds about making children do hard work.

3 In 1904, people formed a group called the National Child Labor Committee. They wanted children to be in school, not in jobs. They asked the government to pass laws to protect children. It took many years for the new laws to pass.

4 Finally, in 1938, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act. This law set a minimum age of sixteen for many kinds of work. It also said that children were not allowed to work long hours. They could not use machines. They could not handle dangerous chemicals. They could not work in mines. Many states passed similar laws at about the same time.

5 However, these laws did not cover farm work. They also did not protect the children of migrant workers who moved from farm to farm. As a result, thousands of children continued to work on farms. They picked much of the food grown in the United States. Children as young as twelve worked for long hours in the hot sun.

6 Many people believed that having children work on farms was unfair. They wanted these new labor laws changed.