“Child labor is a blight on society that robs children of their childhood, education, and dreams” (Malal Yousafzai). Child labor was a major problem in the nineteenth century in the US. Many kids as young as ten were forced to work in fields and mine factories. Most of these children were put to work in dangerous areas. These children received an insufficient amount of education. The cause of child labor was due to the consequence of the Industrial Revolution and poverty which persecuted the children's mental, and physical health. Throughout the history of the United States and even today, the increase in poverty and a bad economy have left children with no thought but to work in harsh environments to find money to survive. The workplace conditions …show more content…
In the research conducted by history.com editors, children often worked in mines, glass factories, textile industries, agriculture, and canneries; these areas were mostly damp, dark, and dirty (“Child Labor In The US”). Safety equipment was not provided to children working in mining factories. Some factories comprised hulking machines and customarily factories used sharp tools to perform most of the work mentioned; these were mostly performed by children (“child labor”). The tasks that children were given were hazardous because children were small compared to adults, they were often given the responsibility of crawling through very narrow tunnels (“The Industrial Child Workforce”). “Children from poor families were expected to participate to the family income, and sometimes they worked in dangerous conditions in 12-hour shifts” (“Challenges and perspectives of child labor”). The hours that children had to allocate at work were so dangerous long hours that “most children fell asleep and often fell into factory machines” (Child Labor, “Work”). According to Beck, Elias, a professional in education, history, and social science, most of the time children who would be late to work would get beat and put back into work (Beck). Children were subjected to serious risks and hazards without the appropriate safety measures. The situations during work seemed alarming because there was no safety and sharp tools were …show more content…
Because the hours that children had to work were so long, children never got to attend school, keeping their focus away from school to earn money and provide for their families (“Industrial Revolution education”). Employers strongly forbid kids from going to school who are trying to attend school and work (“Barriers to the right education”). From 1910 to 1970, the average rate of graduating high school diplomas was nine percent (“Graduation rate”). Soon “the awareness of children getting no education was noticed by the reformers of the Progressive era. They best believed that child labor violated the inherited innocence of youth, keeping them away from their education, the chance to develop important skills, and limiting their prospects” (History.com editors). As stated by Puel, Catherine A. is a graduate of Fordham University with a B.S. in psychology, the finding suggests “In 1904, the National Child Labor Committee was established. Its main goal was to promote federal child labor legislation that would apply to all children. It also fought for free, mandatory education for all children”(Puel). In 1833, it was required by the government that every child should at least get two hours of education (“How Literacy Fueled”). Children were forced to work long hours, leaving them with no education. This led to the failure of the children's future. The awareness is soon noticed and
During the Industrial Revolution, children were used for labor to do the more dangerous activities in the factories. For example, children were often used to squeeze into tight places, because they were much smaller than men. (Labor) Most children worked in the mills to support their families, but had to give up their education in return. (“Modern World History”) In document four, Hebergram’s brother died by being cut from a machine, and later dying from infection. This shows that the factories did not have protection of covering the machines, causing many workers to die. Also, in document four it says, “...A boy was caught in a machine and had both his thigh bones broke and from his knee to his hip the flesh was ripped up the same as it had been cut by a knife.” This shows how unsafe the machines were because the shaft was not covered.
Many businesses and factories hired children because they were easier to exploit; they could be paid less for more work in dangerous conditions. Plus, their small size made many children idea for working with small parts or fitting into small spaces. Children as young as four could be found working in factories, though most were between eight and twelve. Despite the economic gains made by the business that employed them, many children suffered in the workplace. The industrial setting caused many health problems for the children that, if they lived long enough, they would carry with them for the rest of their lives. Children were also more likely to face accidents in the workplace, often caused by fatigue, and many were seriously injured or killed. Despite efforts by reformers to regulate child labor, it wasn’t until the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 that children under 14 were prohibited from
Children as young as young as five or seven years old worked in dangerous factories. Many times if the children fell asleep while on the job, they would slip and get stuck in the machines, resulting in death. Child labor in the late 1800’s was very unsafe and put the lives of young children in danger. The children worked in very dangerous conditions, most of the time it was factories. The conditions were very poor, the factories were dirty and unsafe for children. The children would work for up to sixteen hours with little to no pay.
The labor conditions that children faced were very demanding for a human being from such a small age. For example “In the Manayunk district of Philadelphia, children as young as seven assisted in spinning and weaving of cotton and woolen goods” (Wolensky 2). The children working in the factories had their childhood freedom taken away from them. “In 1830 in a sample of 43 Manchester mills, 22.3% of the workforce was under 14 and 32.4% under 16” (Cunningham 412). This means that about 50% of the workforce in the mills were made up of children under the age of 16 and in today in the United States, a person cannot work until the age of 16. “And it is a hard thing for small children to be confined in a tight close room all day long. It affects their growth, makes them pale and sickly” (Nason). The time these children spent in the factories prevented them from spending time with their neighbors, friends, and family. The fact that young children had to work in these textile mills, created changes to American culture on how childhood years are supposed to be spent.
In the late 1700’s and early 1800’s big business began to boom. For the first time companies were developing large factories to manufacture their goods. Due to the new mechanics and cheap labor, factory owners could now produce their goods at a cheaper rate. As big businesses brought wealth and capitalism, it also widened the gap between the wealthy elite and the poor. One class in particular was horribly affected by the growth of big factories. This class was the poor working class. According to the article “Child Labor in the United States” written by Robert Whaples, a big proportion of the labour work force was made up of children: “In 1820 children aged 15 and under made up 23 percent of the manufacturing labor force of the industrializing
Child labor is using an adolescent to work with minimal to no pay. In today’s society it is considered immoral, but that was not the case in the 1920s. In that time period child labor was very prevalent. Children of all ages would engage in this without a choice. One issue with this is the child never gets the proper education to prevail and get a well paying job. This was not just a job on the farm, there were many forms of labor such as factory work, agricultural work, and domestic work. The conditions were not fit for working, and the children were paid the bare minimum. Further, it was realised that child labor was harmful to the well being of the child. As a result, there were laws created to abolish it. Child labor
The industrial revolution was in the late 1700s and early 1800s, it started in England and caused mass production. Certain impacts that were short term where the population boom, and urbanization. Most of the population was the working class and they worked in factories and mines and didn’t get a lot of pay. The industrial revolution resulted in the suffering of the working class in the short-term due to the inhuman working conditions and child labor.
In 1900, there were 1.75 million child workers in the United States alone, that was 18 percent of all American workers at the time. In southern cotton mills 25 percent of the employees were below the age of fifteen, with half of them being below the age of 3 (History.com). Child Labor is the the use of children in industry or business when considered illegal or inhumane. Child Labor is a social issue that was at its peak during the Industrial Revolution and still occurs today, but has declined drastically over the years due to the unions against it and laws put in affect.
Throughout time children have worked myriad hours in hazardous workplaces in order to make a few cents to a few dollars. This is known as child labor, where children are risking their lives daily for money. Today child labor continues to exist all over the world and even in the United States where children pick fruits and vegetables in difficult conditions. According to the article, “What is Child Labor”; it states that roughly 215 million children around the world are working between the ages of 5 and 17 in harmful workplaces. Child labor continues to exist because many families live in poverty and with more working hands there is an increase in income. Other families take their children to work in the fields because they have no access to childcare and extra money is beneficial to buy basic needs. Although there are laws and regulations that protect children from child labor, stronger enforcement is required because child labor not only exploits children but also has detrimental effects on a child’s health, education, and the people of the nation.
Child Labor and England’s Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution in nineteenth-century England brought about many changes in British society. It was the advent of faster means of production, growing wealth for the Nation and a surplus of new jobs for thousands of people living in poverty. Cities were growing too fast to adequately house the numerous people pouring in, thus leading to squalid living conditions, increased filth and disease, and the families reliance upon their children to survive.
During the 18 and beginning of the 19th century in certain regions of the U.S child labor made up more than 40 percent of the population (Wolensky). That’s almost half of the working population. Since the beginning of time children have always been known to help their families with domestic tasks. Most of these kids worked in factories because they were easy to control and paid less than adults. Kids earned less than half of what adults made in the work force. In these factories they usually cleaned under and inside machines while functioning because of their small size.. That’s how these kids felt as it was described in a article in our history book. They were always in danger of getting hurt or even dying, which many did. Kids as young as five year olds worked 12 hour shifts, seven times a day with no breaks or lunches. Children during this time period of the 18th and 19th century, worked just as hard as adults did and did not even get to live a regular childhood where they played outside with each other. Child labor was a big problem and the majority of kids were forced to go to work because their family needed the money to make a living in America. Child labor showed us how children worked in some of the most dangerous environments risking their lives for just a dollar a week and working as hard as adults did by doing these exhausting 12 hour shifts that tired them out.
Imagine waking up at five in the morning to walk over a mile to a factory where you work until noon where you get a half hour break for lunch, then it’s back to work until nine or ten at night, when you are finally allowed to go home and you are only eight years old. Today that seems unimaginable, but during the early 19th century it was the everyday life of thousands of children whose ages range from as young as five until you died. During the Industrial Revolution many children were required to work dangerous jobs to help their families.
The next time when you are out on your shopping trip, chances you may have support a business that exploits children. It is very disturbing and heartbreaking to learn many children are chained to looms for 12 hours a day because families need to have their child bringing home a small amount of moneys. Child labor has always been a difficult subject to address, the topic have become much more complicated and prolific.
All over Britain new factories were being built and with them, the demand for workers increased. Even though the pay was low for adults, it was still too much for the factory owners to afford. They also needed workers who were small enough to fit into the tight spaces in the new machines. Child labour was the only option. There were many more dangerous jobs which children had to perform, some included crawling under the wool and cotton machines to fix threads. These children had to work for the majority of the day with little or no breaks. Some of them were as young as four. Children were made to work in mines as rushers and harriers. These jobs as well as many other jobs often meant very young children had to work long hours. “I am a harrier. I am fourteen years old and I have been employed ever since I was six. I come to work at seven o’clock, and sometimes leave at four, five or six in the evening in summer, and in the winter near seven.” (Speed and Speed, 1985). As stated in that quote, children had a hard life working in mines and other work places. The pay was also much lower than adult workers in the same factory. Injury was common in work places for kids; they ranged from broken bones to death. The factories had very poor sanitation, which led to...
Poor conditions for workers were not the end of it, however. Industrialization introduced the concept of child labor into factories, which did much to decrease opportunities for education for children in struggling families that depended on income from all members. During the 1860s, children made up one-fifth of British textile industry workers and were especially paid lower wages for performing hazardous jobs like cleaning the machinery, which they could easily get caught in (Industrial). The machines were not the only hazards in factories that could cause harm to children. The fumes and toxins produced by the machines caused illness, chronic conditions, and disease (Eastern).