Although children were servants throughout most of human history, child labor reached new extremes during the Industrial Revolution. The Conditions children worked in were horrific and violated human rights, these practices needed to come to an end. Nineteenth century reformers and labor organizers sought to restrict child labor and improve working conditions but, it took a huge effort to sway public opinion.
Forms of child labor such as indentured servitude and child slavery have existed all throughout American history, when industrialization forced workers to move from farms and home workshops into factory work children were often employed. Factory owners viewed the children as more manageable, cheaper, and less likely to strike. American …show more content…
peaked during the early decades of the twentieth century. The growing opposition to child labor in Northern states forced factories to move South. By 1900, states varied considerably in whether they had child labor standards and in their content and degree of enforcement. There were many reasons why child labor was viewed as bad, First being the age of workers was too low, many under the age of 12, average age was now between the ages of 5-7 years old (Michael Herring). The second reason why child labor was opposed is the horrendous working conditions during this time, one quarter of the children suffered injuries or illnesses while working. This is not surprising considering the lack of clean water, hand-washing facilities, and the dangerous machines and sharp tools they worked with. Another factor was that most of the children were unskilled and this made labor-intensive jobs very risky. They never got the supervision or training needed and if they did receive any it was often poor and inadequate. The Long hours of work they did on a regular basis took away from their social and educational development, this did not help with the fact they were already suffering from a lack of schooling. The educational reformers noticed this and did their best to show the public that personal education was important for both personal fulfillment and advancement of the nation. It wasn't long until child labor began to decline as the labor and reform movements …show more content…
In effect, the employment of children under sixteen years of age was prohibited in manufacturing and mining (FLSA). According to the act, workers must be paid minimum wage and overtime pay must be one-and-a-half times regular pay. Children under eighteen cannot do certain dangerous jobs, and children under the age of sixteen cannot work during school hours (FLSA). The Fair Labor Standards Act affected 700,000 workers, and President Franklin Roosevelt called it the most important piece of New Deal legislation since the Social Security Act of
Forms of child labor such as indentured servitude and child slavery have existed all throughout American history, when industrialization forced workers to move from farms and home workshops into factory work children were often employed. Factory owners viewed the children as more manageable, cheaper, and less likely to strike. American …show more content…
peaked during the early decades of the twentieth century. The growing opposition to child labor in Northern states forced factories to move South. By 1900, states varied considerably in whether they had child labor standards and in their content and degree of enforcement. There were many reasons why child labor was viewed as bad, First being the age of workers was too low, many under the age of 12, average age was now between the ages of 5-7 years old (Michael Herring). The second reason why child labor was opposed is the horrendous working conditions during this time, one quarter of the children suffered injuries or illnesses while working. This is not surprising considering the lack of clean water, hand-washing facilities, and the dangerous machines and sharp tools they worked with. Another factor was that most of the children were unskilled and this made labor-intensive jobs very risky. They never got the supervision or training needed and if they did receive any it was often poor and inadequate. The Long hours of work they did on a regular basis took away from their social and educational development, this did not help with the fact they were already suffering from a lack of schooling. The educational reformers noticed this and did their best to show the public that personal education was important for both personal fulfillment and advancement of the nation. It wasn't long until child labor began to decline as the labor and reform movements …show more content…
In effect, the employment of children under sixteen years of age was prohibited in manufacturing and mining (FLSA). According to the act, workers must be paid minimum wage and overtime pay must be one-and-a-half times regular pay. Children under eighteen cannot do certain dangerous jobs, and children under the age of sixteen cannot work during school hours (FLSA). The Fair Labor Standards Act affected 700,000 workers, and President Franklin Roosevelt called it the most important piece of New Deal legislation since the Social Security Act of