children between the ages
of 10-14 to alternate days or consecutive half days, and children between
14-18 years of age to 12 hours a day with 2 hours for meals and rest (Child
pp). As the industrial system developed in other countries, abuses of
child labor similar to those in Britain became common (Child pp). By the
early 19th century, one-third of the workforce in American factories
consisted of children between the ages of 7 and 12 years (Child pp). The
shortage of adult male laborers, along with the puritanical ideas regarding
the evil of idleness among children, contributed to the exploitation of
child laborers (Child pp). In 1836 Massachusetts adopted the first
legislation directed towards the problem of illiteracy and child labor by
prohibiting the employment of any child under 15 years of age who had
received less than three months of schooling the previous year (Child pp).
And in 1848, Pennsylvania became the " first state to regulate the age
levels of youth employed in silk, cotton, or woolen mills by establishing a
In 1924, Congress passed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution,
empowering Congress to limit, regulate, and prohibit the labor of persons
under 18 years of age, however, ratification failed by 8 votes less than
the 36 required (Child pp). After several failures, Congress passed the
Walsh-Healey Act in 1936, which prohibited firms producing goods under
federal government contract from employing children under 16 years of age
(Child pp). In 1949, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was amended,
stating that children 16 years of age and older could be employed in any
occupation that had not been judged hazardous by the secretary of labor,
however no minimum age was set for non-hazardous agricultural employment
Child labor remains a serious problem in many part of the world
Studies from 1979, showed that more than 50 million children under the age
...