If you were to go to a restaurant right now how old do you think your waiter would be? Twenty? Thirty? What if I told you that your waiter was an eight year old? What if the eight year wasn’t working in a nice restaurant but instead was working in a dangerous factory? During the Industrial Revolution, child labor was completely legal. In fact, many companies hired children on purpose because they didn’t have to pay them as much and also because they were more obedient than adults. Thankfully child labor is now illegal and you most likely won’t get a job until you’re about 16 years old if not older. Child labor during the industrial revolution was very common and also very dangerous. The children would work in mines or factories. Mines were very cramped and also there was the constant threat of the mine collapsing on you. Factories weren’t any safer, children could get …show more content…
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the main federal law that restricts the abuse and employment of child workers. It prevents children from being employed in jobs that are dangerous and protects the educational opportunities of children. They restrict the hours someone under the age of 16 can work and also have a list of jobs that are too dangerous for children to have. Along with the FLSA, each state has their own set of child labor laws that they follow. Since children generally don’t get jobs until they are 16, they are able to focus on their education and not as many children drop out. The conditions of factories and mines now are overall safer due to innovations that have been made and precautions that are taken to prevent accidents. The children who choose to work are given a reasonable about of hours to work and are also generally paid minimum wage ($7.25/hour). Along with all of this there are many groups that work to make sure child labor laws are just and that no child is forced to work in dangerous
As early as the 1830’s Child Labor in the U.S. was already starting to arise. In rural communities child labor on the farm was common, children being employed in factories or mills didn’t seem to be much of a concern to people. In 1830 laws were passed prohibiting children to be hired in an industrial or factory type setting. By 1800, some states passed a large amount of laws prohibiting child labor. Often times these laws did not apply to immigrants so they were often abused on the immigrants which lead to the immigrants living in poor places working for long hours for very little pay. Immigrant or not, child labor back in the 1800’s was a way of life.
During the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s child labor was a social issue that developed in the United States. In the early 1900’s, so many children ages 16 and under were working in American mine and factories. Our kids should not be forced to work at such an early age, they need education and a good childhood that they will always remember. Some children that are as young as 4 years old are being forced to work in crammed, dangerous factories. These factories are full of poisonous fumes and diseases that can obviously kill. Kids as young as 13 are being forced to work around 13 hours a day. Working these 13 hours is exactly what most adults are working at the time. Kids are also earning a lower wage since they are minors, employers
Throughout history, children have always worked, either as apprentices or servants. However, child labor reached a whole new scale during the time period of the Industrial Revolution. Throughout the time frame of late 1800s-early 1900s, children worked long hours in dangerous factory conditions for very little wages. They were considered useful as laborers because their small stature allowed them to be cramped into smaller spaces, and they could be paid less for their services. Many worked to help support their families, and by doing so, they forwent their education. Numerous nineteenth century reformers and labor groups sought to restrict child labor and to improve working conditions.
Throughout the 1700’s and the early 1800’s child labor was a major issue in American society. Children have always worked for family businesses whether it was an agricultural farming situation or working out of a family business in some type of workplace. This was usually seen in families of middle or lower class because extra help was needed to support the family. Child labor dramatically changed when America went through the Industrial Revolution. When America’s industrial revolution came into play, it opened a new world to child labor. Children were now needed to work in factories, mills, and mines. These were not ordinary jobs for young children, these jobs required much time, effort, and hard work. “American
From quitting school and getting paid a minimum of 25¢ to continuing school and getting paid a minimum of $4.25. During the Industrial Revolution, children would seek work in order to provide for their families and leave school doing so. History.com claims that “In 1900, 18 percent of all American workers were under the age of 16.” Many employers would hire children because they were easier to manage and ultimately could be paid less than adults. Today there are many restrictions on child labor that provide a safe work environment and rights for the youth. Labor conditions have changed since the Industrial Revolution thanks to reform movements and have paved the way for the safer modern day conditions.
Child labour, which began in the early 1800’s and ended around the 1920’s. Child labour was commonly used to help poor/immigrant families receive more money. According to history.com it states, “25 percent of the employees were below the age of fifteen, with half of these children below age twelve. In addition, the horrendous conditions of work for many child laborers brought the issue to public attention.” This reveals children worked even below the age of 15 and even 12 years old. They weren't given tolerable working conditions despite their young age. Also according to american-historama.org it states, “The typical hours of work lasted from sunrise to sunset, 11 or 12 hours per day, six days a week. They had less than one hour break in their working day … They earned an average weekly wage of one dollar.” This shows children worked a considerable number of hours and only earned little wage. Lastly according to scholastic.com it says “Many children began working before the age of 7, tending machines in spinning mills or hauling heavy loads. The factories were often damp, dark, and dirty. Some children worked underground, in coal mines. The working children had no time to play or go to school, and little time to rest. They often became ill.” This shows at very young ages children began work as they worked in damp, dark, and dirty work areas. However in
Today we have child labor laws, which prohibit the use of children as workers. During the industrial revolution, there was no such thing. You can see in Lewis W. Hine’s photo that a child is dangerously balancing on a milk crate so he can reach the machine. (Lewis W. Hine) Children worked extremely dangerous jobs for very little pay. This boy in the photo could easily fall from where he is balancing and could cut himself open on the machine.
Child Labor, once known as the practice of employing young children in factories, now it's used as a term for the employment of minors in general, especially in work that would interfere with their education or endanger their health. Throughout history and in all cultures children would work in the fields with their parents, or in the marketplace and young girls in the home until they were old enough to perform simple tasks. The use of child labor was not a problem until the Factory System. The Factory System is a working arrangement where a number of people cooperate to produce articles of consumption. Some form of Factory system has existed even since ancient times.
Child labor was a cruel and unfair way of using children in unnecessary situations. It was debated for a countless number of years whether child labor was a social problem or a political problem. Children were responsible for completing very dangerous, rigorous, and demanding jobs. Most jobs for the children were completed in factories, farms, and coal mines. Subsequently, the working conditions for the children were not healthy, and it led to life threatening situations. Many would get seriously injured or killed. Some worked until exhaustion and fell asleep on the job, and would experience harsh consequences. Generally speaking, child labor drastically changed the way owners ran their businesses during the Industrial Revolution. The ruthless ways of child labor were never changed for the better until different Acts and Laws were put into place. People were concerned with the social and physical wellbeing of working children in Britain during the Industrial Revolution.
“ In 1900, 18 percent of all American workers were under the age of 16.”(Foner) Child labor is a terrible thing that children have to go through. Although this was not considered a problem because of how normal it was.(Foner.). But due to the work of investigative journalist children today no longer have to worry about working in these dangerous environments.
After many discussions about it, the Congress finally passed the Fair Labor Standards Act. This act ensured that no child under the age of 14 is allowed to work. Not only did it state that, it stated that minors are only allowed to work a certain amount of hours per week. This is significant because before this, any child of any age was allowed to work. If it weren’t for the teachers, and parents, and the children themselves who came forward throughout the 1920s to talk about child labor and the negative effects it had on their childhood, child labor may have lasted a lot longer than it
Children most of the time worked in mines, glass factories, textiles, canaries, and home industries. A lot of these industries are filled with dangers that can easily kill them. In this quote “Children as young as six years old during the industrial revolution worked hard hours for little or no pay” (Child labor in factories). A good number of these kids were harassed and mistreated by the factory bosses. If children didn’t arrive on time to work, they would have to be punished by the factory bosses. The punishment was that the children would have to sprint up and down the factory aisle until they were completely drained out of energy and they had to do this nude carrying a backpack full of heavy objects. This caused a lot of children to develop
Child labor. A very cruel part of the British Industrial Revolution. Among the worst, children working at cotton mills was very harsh, dangerous, and terrible. In this essay, I will be explaining why working at the cotton mills was the worst kind of child labor in the British Industrial Revolution. Let’s begin with the first two reasons.
In the Industrial Revolution, children work in coal mines and factories. Theses job are even intense for most grown men. Also laborers can suffer survive injuries and die as well. In the story “My Cotton Dress,” it says “boys and girls must pick it for my dresses, while their backs grow tired and their heads ache.” From working in a coal mine they rarely saw the sun so their skin lacked the proper vitamins. Plus the workers could suffer from things like black lung disease. In factories, you might
Although children had been servants and apprentices throughout most of human history, child labor reached new extremes during the Industrial Revolution.There was a big impact on the daily life of a child labourer as poor children often worked full time jobs with minimal pay in order to help support their families. Young children worked long hours in factories under dangerous conditions. children were easier to manage and control than adults because their size was perfect as it allowed them to move in small spaces in factories or mines.The practice of child labor continued throughout much of the Industrial Revolution until laws were eventually passed that made child labor illegal.