Child Labor Laws In The Progressive Era

Child Labor During The Progressive Era Before the extensive reforms in child labor during the Progressive Era, a substantial number of children were working with long hours and meager salaries, especially after the industrialization of factories. Due to the fact that business owners found many benefits in hiring children rather than adults, such as their smaller sizes and lower salary requirements, child labor was extremely widespread. The census of 1890 disclosed the fact that more than a million children, who ranged from the ages of 10-15, endured child labor. Children experienced many ailments such as heavy coal dust from working with coal and fumes from glasswork. Child Labor

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

During the late 1800s and the early 1900s, also known as "The Progressive Era," there was a large amount of poverty, corruption, and unfairness in the workplace. Many people who were known as Progressives or reformers fought for the rights that were owed to the public. They did face many challenges, but eventually worked through them and got the people what they wanted.

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

Lewis Hine(1874-1940) was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He studied sociology at Chicago and New York universities, becoming a teacher, then took up photography as a means of expressing his social concerns. In 1908, Hine left his teaching position for a full-time job as an investigative photographer for the National Child Labor Committee to document Child labor. Throughout America, child labor was ignored and unrecognized. Hine believed that if people could see for themselves the abuses and injustices of child labor, they would demand laws to end child labor.

“The demand for labor grew, and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries many children were drawn into the labor force. Factory wages were so low that children often had to work to help support their families. However, child laborers rarely experienced their youth” (National Archives). Child labor was a “normal” thing to many people

During the 1900’s there had been many progressive reforms that have been success and unsuccessful. One progressive reform movement that I found to be most successful was the child labor reform. Back in the 1900’s there was great issue with child labor. Photographers were able to expose this truth by taking pictures of children working. The Progressives sought out to solve this problem.

The FLSA child labor provisions are designed to protect the educational opportunities of minors and prohibit their employment in jobs and under conditions harmful to their health or well-being. The provisions include restrictions on hours of work for minors under 16 and lists of hazardous occupations guidelines for both farm and non-farm jobs declared by the Secretary of Labor to be too dangerous for minors to perform.

In 1919, Congress passed the Child Labor Tax law otherwise known as the Revenue Act of 1919. The law stated that if a company used employees under the age of 14, there would be a tax of 10% on annual net profits. After the Drexel Furniture Company was found in violation of the act, the company paid $6,000 in taxes as a sign of protest later on suing claiming the tax was unconstitutional.

It was not rare to find kids working for long days and hours in mills or factories or other places of trade. It was called child labor. Many families lived off of the income that their kids brought home every day. Concern from the public about the fact that these kids had to work so much and so hard began to rise. Supporters for child labor laws proved that children who worked such long days, such as 26-27 hours a week, were always rundown, depressed, and deprived of real education, fresh air, and time to play with friends and act like children. They also were concerned about the physical risks that these kids could have. Kids in factories had high accident rates. Some states passed laws limiting child labor, but these states had restrictions that held an economic drawback.

Child labor remains a major social issue in the world, it is not as severe an issue as it was centuries ago, but it still affects millions of kids all over the world today. Children have historically been a part of the world's labor force especially, with the arrival of industrialization. There are many occasions throughout history in which children have been indentured or forced into child slavery within the labor market. Children were viewed as a cheap, manageable and sustainable labor resources by many businesses. Child Labor increased in the United States when the population increased. When many immigrants began moving to the United States to rural areas, they began urbanization, which meant that more people moved to urban areas. There were local needs however there weren’t enough workers, so businesses resorted to hiring children.

Provisions of New York State Law Regarding Child Labor Current provisions of New York State employment laws have taken actions to protect the working conditions of children. These necessary actions should further prevent any mistreatment of child laborers from recurring, as it did at the time of the Industrial Revolution. The dire conditions under which many children were forced to work were hazardous to their health and emotional well-being. As early as the age of 5, children tended the machinery in factories and helped mine coal.

Up until the 13th amendment, owning a slave had been just like owning any other piece of property. No one felt guilty about how the slaves were being mistreated. The 13th amendment was the first step in ending slavery in the United States, but no steps were taken to end slavery in other countries. Even though people believe that slavery no longer exists today, about 5.5 million children are still held captive in slavery (Anti- Slavery International 2012). Child slavery can come in many different forms.

During the Early Modern Era the opinions toward children varied between different societies. In most civilizations children weren’t treated with any special treatments and were raised to be obedient workers and in turn affecting their education. In these societies children were brought depending on social status, and because of this bias many children were forced to hard labor. Though there are many regional and culture differences, at this time the world was opening up to reform and rebuilding, and due to a lack people in the workforce to handle such a task, child labor became the commonality.