World Goal 8 : Decent Work and Economic Growth ( A Look at Child Labor in the United States))
By dontemcgee2
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The First Step Towards the End
The first law passed in the United States to combat child labor was done in Massachusetts. This law set a requirement that any child under 15 must go to school for a minimum of 3 months a year. Even as early back as 1836 education was still being valued and something very important to remember is if a child is working, then they can't possibly be learning at school. Working at an early age is only limiting the child from possibilities. -
Spreading, but not Enforcing
Around this time many laws began popping up state wide that handled child labor depending on what was "best" for that area. The North tended to rule out and be more willing to change than the South did. The agricultural business was relatively left alone and the focus had been on mining and manufacturing jobs that were deemed hazardous. Many of these laws were inconsistent and not enforced very well in the beginning leaving for loose child labor laws across the country. -
The Granite Mill Tragedy
Link text The Granite Mill fire occurred in 1874. There were many young girls who were trapped in a mill when a fire erupted killing them while burning the mill. The result of this was press covering not the fact that children had died, but rather the lack fire safety and so a call for fire safety came from this. There were many other stories that occurred similar to this the proceeding years that led to more change -
Under 14? We're Working On It!
As the United States continued on through the late 1800's a group was established that would later come to be known as the American Federation of Labor and was started by a man named Samuel Gompers. He was an activist for child labor reform and in 1881 a convention was held. At this convention he requested that legislation ensure that no children under the age of 14 works. This website details more on this. Link text -
Miss Mary Supports the Children
In Kensington, PA in 1903 a strike took place in which about 10,000, children left their work for strike. A woman named Mary Harris Jones selected a group of children to make a demonstration with. She took children who had suffered injuries to prove a point, such as mangled hands and missing fingers. She took these children to the presidents retreat home to make sure their voice was heard. Link text -
National Child Labor Committee
The National Child Labor Committee forming was a massive improvement to the standards that were to be set in coming years. Reform had been going on in states across the country and we finally get to a bill being proposed. The bill stated that the minimum required factory age would be 14, the minimum required mining age would be 16, and the work day was to be reduced to 8 hours. Link text -
Further Restrictions
Congress attempted to follow suite with all of the reform that had been occurring. An additional amendment was added to attempt to regulate child labor even further, however not enough states were in support. The result of this is the states rejecting it and it never fell through. It would have to wait to see more restrictions on the child labor laws we faced in America. Over the course of the next few years (until 1932) there were several states who ratified the bill, but more who did not. -
Its Standard for Everyone!
President Roosevelt passed a revolutionary new law. This act finally set forth a national minimum age and a maximum number of hours an employer could give. With the new act children that were under the age of 16 were no longer allowed to work either factory or mining jobs. This ensured children were set to stay in school longer and would no longer be facing the harsh, unjust labor conditions. Link text -
Adding to the Old
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was so incredibly helpful, however there was still more to be done in the United States with the child labor that was still going on. So, an amendment was made to the original act that directly acted on child labor. It stretched the act so that it covered other industries aside from mining and manufacturing such as agriculture, transportation, and communications. Since then it has further been tweaked to go with modern times. -
We CARE About The Children
The CARE Act was introduced in 2001 to increase the punishment for any businesses still participating in illegal child labor. Any violation is now more severe than previous. There were also extra laws set that would prevent agricultural workers from being exposed to too many negative conditions for too long. Link text -
Now...
Child labor is still present in America today, although it has decreased exponentially since our country has been founded. It is important to remember that different times require different things. Going through the Industrial Revolution, WW1, WW2, and the Great Depression influenced our economy as it did globally America has mended its woes. We now have organizations to end child labor. Link text
