Essay On Child Labor During The Industrial Revolution

Throughout history children have participated in various forms of labor such as slavery and indentured servitude, but it was not until the Industrial Revolution that their work became increasingly severe to the point where those surrounding them became weary and deemed it necessary for restrictions to be placed on the policies of child labor. The benefits that children received from their labor were minimal considering the harsh and unsafe conditions they endured. Child labor during the Industrial Revolution was so harsh that it became a necessity for the formation of labor unions and committees, including the National Child Labor Committee in 1904.
During the Industrial Revolution the economy transformed from a rural and agricultural economy to an industrial or factory-based economy. Enormous bands of families flocked from suburban areas to cities in hopes of finding work in factories. Within those families who traveled to the cities were children who sought work in order to help support their

families. In 1900, 18 percent of all American workers were under the age of 16.1 The working conditions of children were considerably harsher than those of adult workers. Children often worked 10 to 14 hour shifts with little to no breaks. The factories where most children worked were extremely dangerous. Many children were injured and died while working from inhaling toxins and getting their limbs caught in the machinery. 2 In addition to factories, children also worked in dangerous conditions in other industries which included coal mines, textile mills, and carpet plants.3Factory owners were especially fond of hiring children because they knew that it was easy to take advantage of them,pay them less than adult workers, or not pay them at all. One boy explained the payment system: "They [boys of eight years] used to get 3d [d is the abbreviation for pence] or 4d a day. Now a man's wages is divided into eight eighths; at eleven, two eighths; at thirteen, three eighths; at fifteen, four eighths; at twenty, a man's wagesÐ About 15s [shillings]." 4 Factory owners were primarily concerned with their profit and the success of their factories. They were willing to go to great extremes for the success of their factories, even if it meant treating workers, including child laborers poorly. Some factory owners hired children and compensated them with basic needs such as food,housing, and clothing which were often times of poor quality. 5 Factory owners were also attracted to child laborers because children were able to fit into the small spaces that were unable to be reached by adult employees. It was also simple for the factory owners to threaten their child employees both physically and verbally.6 Not only were the working conditions, hours, and wages of children horrendous, but the treatment they received was appalling. Factory owners disregarded the safety of their employees and treated them however they desired for their selfish needs. Most of the time, the treatment received by children was cruel and unusual. Children who worked as assistants to textile workers were beaten, verbally abused, and suffered other forms of physical punishment such as being “weighted” in which a child was displayed to the factory with a heavy weight around their neck.7 As a result of the immense need for employees, owners did not bother worrying about the welfare and pay of their employees as long as the work was being completed and they were acquiring money.8 Factory owners did not care if children were injured or killed because they knew that there were other children to take their place.9 The lines “They crouched all day by the spindles, wizened and wan and old; They have given their youth to a master who has minted it into gold” from the poem “A Song Of The Factory” that by James F. Montague demonstrate how abruptly the joys and delights of childhood were taken away from the child laborers by the factory owners who used them to secure wealth. Children went from being happy and filled with laughter to being depressed because of the rigorous labor they were forced into.10
The labor of children in these factories was so demanding that most were unable to attend school and receive an education. Those fortunate enough to be enrolled often attended only portions of school a day or only a few weeks at a time.11 Education was one of the many critical components of a child’s life that was sacrificed for their work. According to Greene, the employers forced young workers into dangerous labor-intensive jobs that caused “severe and permanent physical, psychological, intellectual, and social damage.”12 At the time regulation by the government lacked and safety standards, working conditions,and working hours were not encouraged.13 Due to the fact that a majority of children were unable to receive an education, many were often illiterate and were uninformed about other ways of life that were possible at the time. The lack of education resulted in most children continuing to work in the factories, while living in what seemed like an endless cycle of poverty.14
Although most of the people, who were those of the poor and working class at the time agreed that child labor was an awful practice and should be stopped, there were those who supported it such as factory owners,the entrepreneurs who started it, and the prosperous middle class that emerged.15 These people supported the labor because they were receiving economic benefits. With the growing opposition to child labor in the North where a majority of the factories were located, many factories had relocated to the South.16As the nineteenth century came to a close, the number of child laborers drastically increased reaching about 1.75 of which about 25 percent were 15 years old or younger. After realizing how unacceptable child labor had become, people including women, teachers, and those in church groups began to take a stand by forming labor committees, the first being the National Child Labor Committee.17 While a larger portion of the population urged for restrictions to be put on child labor, industrialists including mill and factory owners opposed the legislation against it.18
The hard work of the laborers especially the child labors during the Industrial Revolution helped to stimulate an expansion in the economy of the United States.

New practices of doing business were developed including corporations, monopolies, pools, trusts, holding companies, and conglomerates.19 The economic policy of Laissez- Faire or economics in which there is no interference from the government was largely responsible for the drastic development of the economy throughout the Industrial Revolution.20 Although there was a great increase in the economy during the Industrial Revolution, it was not easily attainable. The laborers which included children primarily from lower classes, had to endure horrendous circumstances in order to bring the economy to the extensive level that it attained at the time. A description of the ways in which capitalism led to a deterioration of living for the working class is illustrated in this text from the book Norton

Anthology:
For the great majority of the laboring class the results of the policy (of laissez faire) were inadequate wages, long hours of work under sordid conditions, and the large-scale employment of women and children for tasks which destroy body and soul. Reports from investigating committees on coal mines found male and female children ten or even five years of age harnessed to heavy coal-sledges which they dragged crawling on their hands and knees . . . (Norton Anthology, p. 3).21

The National Child labor committee was organized on April 25, 1904. Those involved in the committee wanted to educate the public about the alarming conditions children worked in and the harsh treatment they received.The committee used the photography of Lewis Hine to physically illustrate the conditions that the children were working in in order to stimulate the public to take initiative and petition for action from the government.22 Lewis Hine believed Americans needed to see the job these children performed and the conditions they endured, both physical and mental. To look into a child's eyes knowing they could not read or write, were sick from breathing toxic air or tired form working twelve to fourteen hours a day, Hine knew Americans would be outraged.23 As Hine went in disguise to factories to take photographs and interview the child laborers, he was at times confronted by factory owners and denied access into the factories.24 Factory owners and other employers often did not want their practices exposed.25 Hine captioned his photographs with careful notes which contained critical information including the subject’s name, age, work duties, and the place and date of the photograph.26 An example of one of Hine’s captions include: “Girls, boys and men, polishing and wrapping, working together: morals in glass factory are proverbially bad. Union Stopper Co., Morgantown, W. Va. Several very young girls and many small boys working here. Location: Morgantown, West Virginia.”27 The National Child Labor Committee led to the formation of the Children’s Bureau in both the U.S department of Commerce and the U.S Department of labor. The National Child Labor Committee hoped to ban most forms of child labor and promote compulsory education in all states. Even though the National Child Labor Committee was unable to completely ban child labor, its work did result in the passing of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938 which placed provisions on child labor.28 The National Child Labor Committee ensured that children did not work in mines, mills, and streets. In addition to repairing the labor related problems that children faced, the National Child Labor Committee also focused on guaranteeing that children were educated and provided with the proper health care. The work of the National Child Labor Committee led to the passage of other acts including the Vocational Education Act, Manpower Development and Training Act, and the Economic Opportunity Act.29
The Industrial Revolution in America resulted in a shift of the economy from agrarian to industrial. As a result of the development of factories and the demand for employees, many children were sent to work in order to support their families. Children were taken advantage of by factory owners, masters, and other authoritarians who only cared about their wealth and success of their industry rather than their employees. Children endured many dangerous conditions while working and were not treated fairly. Resulting from their work, many children fell ill and died. Although there was a substantial increase in the economy, it would not have been possible without the child laborers working through the horrible conditions and awful treatment in factories and other industries. By the late 1800s into the early 1900s almost all children were working in factories and other industries. People started to deem it a necessity for the regulation of the conditions and treatment of child labor. The motivation to create restrictions and laws on labor, resulted in the formation of the National Child Labor Committee in 1904. Not only did the National Child Labor Committee of 1904 greatly improve the working conditions for children, but it also aided in making sure that children received an education so that they could eventually work in places other than factories and remove themselves from the poverty cycle that they were a part of.