Child Labor
Child Labor by definition is work for children that harms them or exploits them in some way. It is a social problem that is usually associated with capitalism and industrial production. It made its presence very strongly during the Industrial Revolution (1). It is a piece of U.S. history that is not talked about much. Nevertheless it's a significant part of our past.Child labor first became an issue in the 1850's for the most part in Northern cities like New York and worsened with the increase of industry. Poor children in large cities as young as 6 or 7 were sent out by parents to contribute to their household income. Children worked in factories, mine fields, and in the streets. They also picked cotton, shined shoes, sold newspapers, canned fish, made clothes and wove fabric. The youngest children worked as scavengers. They would gather rope, metal, and bottles while the older kid's street peddled or worked at huckstering (negotiating). The children who worked in the streets away from adult supervision often found themselves mixed up in gambling, prostitution, or stealing. Children were seen as cheap labor and with money hard to come across these kids had no choice but to work for what little they could get (2).
Today we live in a society that sees child labor as something morally wrong. Other Laws were then passed to adjust to different scenarios that may have risen. It's hard for me to understand how an employer or a parent can see a child exert themselves to the grueling task of working every day rather than going to school. Adults would find it extremely difficult to work under these conditions let alone a child who has to work three times as hard to complete the same tasks of an adult. The pay they earned was very little and it mostly went to support their families (4). He formed traveling exhibits and turned his pictures into slides where he would give lectures on child labor (4). I'm sure these images gave people all over the country a new awareness of child labor. Children were kept inside their work place all day long or, if they worked in fields, were outside in the sun all day. It also limited the age of child laborers to 16 or older and 18 if the occupation is hazardous. Unfortunately some families found themselves in situations where they needed that extra income no matter how insignificant it may be. They would work six days for about twelve hours each day and they would do this for the entire year. Individuals also made strides to make people conscience of what was going on around them. Others show children in mines after a long days work covered in dirt. Many laws have been passed to ensure that child labor, if not banished, is as controlled as it can be.
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Acceptance Essays
