Selects: Child Labor: Not Funny

Child labor has been both a historical economic engine and a social challenge in America. Chuck Bryant alongside various historical perspectives help us understand this complex issue.

Child Labor in Early America's Economy and Culture

Settlers Expected Children to Contribute To Family's Livelihood

Bryant recalls starting work at the age of 13 with a wage of $3.35 an hour at a barbecue restaurant. This practice echoes early America’s norm where children typically began working by the age of 13. Boys worked on the farms, while girls assisted in household duties alongside their female relatives.

Protestant Work Ethic and Absent Child Labor Laws Allowed Child Exploitation For Profit During the Industrial Revolution

Figures like George Washington and Alexander Hamilton had positive views of child labor. They viewed it as preventative against idleness, imparting that women and children were more productive in manufacturing establishments. Work, whether in rural farms or city factories, was a pillar of life, and the absence of child labor laws allowed it to be taken to exploitative lengths, particularly during the Industrial Revolution.

Child Labor Surge During Industrial Revolution: Lengthy, Hazardous Working Conditions

In 1900, 1.7 million children under the age of 16 were officially employed in factories, which did not account for those working in agriculture or at home. The robber barons of that era accrued wealth through the exploitation of immigrant and child labor due to the lack of societal or governmental oversight.

Owners Used Child Labor Citing Idleness to Justify Hazardous Employment

The notion that "idle hands were the devil's workshop" was a cultural motivator pushing children into the workforce. The Industrial Revolution further entrenched this mindset, worsening conditions as children as young as four toiled for 10 to 12 hours daily in places like cotton spinning factories. As economic growth surged, especially during the second industrial revolution, industries such as steel and coal mining saw child labor conditions deteriorate even more.

Photos and Journalism E ...

Progressive reformers and dedicated individuals like Lewis Hine played critical roles in the movements against child labor, eventually leading to significant legislative reforms in the United States.

Reformers Spearheaded Campaigns to Eliminate Child Labor

Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, progressive reformers advocated for societal changes that would end child labor, proposing legislation to set age, work hours, and safety standards. Their efforts focused on prioritizing education over labor for children and restricting the amount of work minors could engage in.

Photographer Lewis Hine Documents Child Labor for National Child Labor Committee

Lewis Hine, who had personal experience working long days as a child, was hired by the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC). As part of his role, he documented child labor conditions across various industries. Hine managed to capture around 5,000 photographs, which demonstrated the harsh realities that child workers faced and are now archived in the Library of Congress.

To gather these eye-opening images, Hine often disguised himself in various roles, such as an industrial machinery photographer or a Bible salesman. This allowed him to gain access to factories where children worked. Ingeniously, he used his coat's buttons, which were aligned at known measurements, to gauge children's height and estimate their ages while avoiding suspicion or revealing his mission.

Progressive Legislation and Reform Efforts

As a consequence of advocacy and awareness efforts, states established child labor commissions and passed laws setting minimum ages for work, maximum hours, and minimum wages. However, these laws varied widely from state to state and were often limited in scope.

Gradual Progress Achieved Through State and Federal Reforms Despite Opposition

Despite substantial opposition from industrialists and factory owners who profited from inexpensive child labor and actively lobbied against reg ...

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has been a cornerstone in regulating child labor in the United States, yet its influence remains complicated by several challenges and exemptions which allow child labor to persist.

Fair Labor Standards Act Protections For Child Workers With Exceptions

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 set significant boundaries in the employment of minors, particularly by barring children under the age of 16 from working in manufacturing and coal mining, thereby protecting them from some of the most dangerous labor environments. It differentiates between agricultural and non-agricultural labor, affording a level of protection to children under 18 in non-agricultural jobs by prohibiting employment in hazardous occupations such as mining or forest firefighting and restricting work hours to a maximum of three hours daily during the school year.

Despite these safeguards, Chuck and Josh Clark illustrate the act’s loopholes through their personal experiences. Special interest influences have carved out exceptions within the act, such as the roles of child actors, newspaper delivery, and, more peculiarly, home-based wreath making specifically with evergreens.

Act Barred Children Under 16 From Manufacturing and Mining, Allowed Lax Agriculture Regulations

For agricultural labor, the FLSA allows much fewer protections. With parental consent, children as young as 12 can work unlimited hours during the school year. In the case of family farms, 16-year-olds can work unlimited hours, even in hazardous conditions designated by the Department of Labor, reflecting a regulatory landscape with deep-rooted exemptions.

Child Labor Persists In the U.S. and Worldwide

Despite the FLSA and ongoing efforts, child labor remains a significant global issue.

150 Million Children Worldwide in Child Labor, Mostly in Agriculture

Globally, around 158 million children are estimated to be engaged in child labor, with a striking majority, or 71%, working in agriculture and other hazardous industries such as fishing, herding, mining, and exposure to dangerous chemicals and pesticides, as is the case on tobacco farms in Zimbabwe.

In the historical context of Philadelphia in 1900, child labor significantly impacted educational attendance with progressively larger percentages of boys leaving school to work as they aged.

Challenges In Restricting C ...