Child Labor

1
Child Labor

• Mrs. Young
• Unit V Industrial Revolution
• Then Now

2

• PART I
• The following pictures
• were taken from the History Place
• and include the original photo captions
• written by Lewis W. Hine

3
Doffer boys. Macon, Georgia
4
Furman Owens, 12 years old. Can't read. Doesn't
know his A,B,C's. Said, "Yes I want to learn but
can't when I work all the time." Been in the
mills 4 years, 3 years in the Olympia Mill.
Columbia, S.C.
5
A general view of spinning room, Cornell Mill.
Fall River, Mass
6
A moments glimpse of the outer world. Said she
was 11 years old. Been working over a year.
Rhodes Mfg. Co. Lincolnton, N.C.
7
boys and girls were so small they had to climb up
on to the spinning frame to mend broken threads
and to put back the empty bobbins. Bibb Mill No.
1. Macon, Ga
8
One of the spinners in Whitnel Cotton Mill. She
was 51 inches high. Has been in the mill one
year. Sometimes works at night. Runs 4 sides - 48
cents a day. When asked how old she was, she
hesitated, then said, "I don't remember," then
added confidentially, "I'm not old enough to
work, but do just the same." Out of 50 employees,
there were ten children about her size. Whitnel,
N.C
9
A small newsie downtown on a Saturday afternoon.
St. Louis, Mo.
10
A group of newsies selling on Capitol steps.
Tony, age 8, Dan, 9, Joseph, 10, and John, age
11. Washington, D.C
11
Michael McNelis, age 8, a newsboy with
photographer Hine. This boy has just recovered
from his second attack of pneumonia. Was found
selling papers in a big rain storm. Philadelphia,
Pa
12
At the close of day. Waiting for the cage to go
up. The cage is entirely open on two sides and
not very well protected on the other two, and is
usually crowded like this. The small boy in front
is Jo Puma. S. Pittston, Pa.
13
View of the Ewen Breaker of the Pa. Coal Co. The
dust was so dense at times as to obscure the
view. This dust penetrated the utmost recesses of
the boys' lungs. A kind of slave-driver sometimes
stands over the boys, prodding or kicking them
into obedience. S. Pittston, Pa.
14
A young driver in the Brown mine. Has been
driving one year. Works 7 a.m. to 530 p.m.
daily. Brown West VA
15
9 p.m. in an Indiana Glass Works
16
Some of the young knitters in London Hosiery
Mills. London, Tenn
17
Young cigar makers in Engelhardt Co. Three boys
looked under 14. Labor leaders told me in busy
times many small boys and girls were employed.
Youngsters all smoke. Tampa, Fla.
18
Day scene. Wheaton Glass Works. Boy is Howard
Lee. His mother showed me the family record in
Bible which gave his birth as July 15, 1894. 15
years old now, but has been in glass works two
years and some nights. Millville, N.J.
19
Rob Kidd, one of the young workers in a glass
factory. Alexandria, Va.
20
Oyster shuckers working in a canning factory. All
but the very smallest babies work. Began work at
330 a.m. and expected to work until 5 p.m. The
little girl in the center was working. Her mother
said she is "a real help to me." Dunbar, La.
21
Shrimp pickers, including little 8 year old Max
on the right. Biloxi, Miss
22
Johnnie, a nine year old oyster shucker. Man with
pipe behind him is a padrone who has brought
these people from Baltimore for four years. He is
the boss of the shucking shed. Dunbar, La.
23
Manuel the young shrimp picker, age 5, and a
mountain of child labor oyster shells behind him.
He worked last year. Understands not a word of
English. Biloxi, Miss
24
Manuel the young shrimp picker, age 5, and a
mountain of child labor oyster shells behind him.
He worked last year. Understands not a word of
English. Biloxi, Miss.
25
Camille Carmo, age 7, and Justine, age 9. The
older girl picks about 4 pails a day. Rochester,
Mass
26
Norris Luvitt. Been picking 3 years in berry
fields near Baltimore.
27
After 9 p.m., 7 year old Tommie Nooman
demonstrating the advantages of the Ideal Necktie
Form in a store window on Pennsylvania Ave. in
Washington, D.C. His father said, "He is the
youngest demonstrator in America. Has been doing
it for several years from San Francisco, to New
York. We stay a month or six weeks in a place. He
works at it off and on." Remarks from the
by-standers were not having the best effect on
Tommie
28
Picking nuts in dirty basement. The dirtiest
imaginable children were pawing over the nuts
eating lunch on the table. Mother had a cold and
blew her nose frequently (without washing her
hands) and the dirty handkerchiefs reposed
comfortably on table close to the nuts and nut
meats. The father picks now. New York City.
29
Messengers absorbed in their usual game of poker
in the "Den of the terrible nine" (the waiting
room for Western Union Messengers, Hartford,
Conn.). They play for money. Some lose a whole
month's wages in a day and then are afraid to go
home. The boy on the right has been a messenger
for 4 years. Began at 12 years of age. He works
all night now. During an evening's conversation
he told me stories about his experiences with
prostitutes to whom he carries messages
frequently. Hartford, Conn
30
Question 2 What does this political cartoon
from 1902 suggest?
31

• The tireless efforts of reformers, social workers
  and unions seemed to pay off in 1916 - at the
  height of the progressive movement - when
  President Woodrow Wilson passed the Keating-Owen
  Act banning articles produced by child labor from
  being sold in interstate commerce. The act was
  struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme
  Court just two years later.Source US Department
  of Labor

So, by 1920 the American government stopped child
labor and made it illegal to work and instead
said children should be educated for free.
Two girls wearing banners with slogan "ABOLISH
CHILD SLAVERY!!" in English and Yiddish, one
carrying American flag spectators stand nearby.
Probably taken during May 1, 1909 labor parade in
New York City.
32

• Do these kind of conditions still exist today?

Why? HOW? Where? What do they do?
March 8, 2005 One in twelve of the worlds
children are forced into child labour UNICEF
UK A new report launched today by UNICEF UK
exposes the global exploitation of children as
workers, highlighting how one in twelve of the
worlds children (180 million young people below
18) are involved in the worst forms of child
labour hazardous work, slavery, forced labour,
in armed forces, commercial sexual exploitation
and illicit activities. 97 of these are in
developing countries.
33
PART IIThe following pictures were by David
Parker from a gallery called Stolen Dreams

34

• Statement of Artist David Parker MD
•        During the American industrial era, the
  need for labor drew the youngest of workers into
  the labor force. Without safety provisions or
  fresh air, children were forced to work long
  hours for little compensation. The pale gaunt
  face of the child worker was brought to the
  attention of the American people not only by
  labor leaders like Samuel Gompers but by writers
  such as Sinclair Lewis and photographers such as
  Lewis Hine. After decades of struggle, the United
  States gradually began to implement child labor
  laws.        The focus of my recent photography
  has grown directly out of my work as a doctor.
  Like many people, I thought that child labor had
  largely disappeared and did not realize that over
  150 million children worldwide still work in
  order to sustain basic needs.         Over
  the last six years, I have photographed children
  working in a variety of occupations in the United
  States, Mexico, Thailand, Nepal, Bangladesh,
  Turkey, Morocco, Indonesia, and India. In
  general, working conditions in developing nations
  are far inferior to those in developed nations.
  Health problems are compounded for children
  because they are more susceptible than adults.
  For example, children develop dust-related lung
  diseases, from work in brick factories more
  quickly then adults. Child carpet weavers
  suffer from the development of degenerative joint
  disease by the age of twelve.

35

• Click here for link to pictures- when you get to
  the webpage, click on Enter Gallery
• http//www.hsph.harvard.edu/gallery/intro.html

36

•  My personal challenge is to present photographs
  that raise questions such as
• Under what circumstances and conditions should
  children work?
• What is the nature of work conducted by children
  in different parts of the world?
• What role should the nations of the world play in
  controlling child labor?
• What alternatives do children have and how are
  these alternatives decided?

For Homework you are going to answer these
questions in paragraph form.
37
Work cited page

• http//www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabo
  r/index.html
• http//www.hsph.harvard.edu/gallery/intro.html