Dbq Child Labor In The Late 1800s And Early 1900

Some other unfortunate events was the growth of the urban poor, children switched from working on farms or in homes to working in factories, brick yards, and coal mines. The jobs became much more difficult to do and more dangerous to work at. Workers were overworked, nearly starved, and beaten. “They were often “strapped” or beaten” (Doc 1).

Since it would be difficult to replace a large amount of workers, strike was an efficient way of getting attention. However, the factory owners could not allow those young girls to teach them how to run their business. “They are biting the hands that feed them,” said in the PBS documentary. (Wignot, Triangle Fire) Because of their wealth and social status, they had the money and power to bribe local policemen and judges while average working-class people did not had chance to know those people.

Factory Working Working in the 1800’s was hard and was very dangerous, by the mid 1800’s America was using machines to produce most things such as clothing, shoes, watches, , guns, and farming machines. The workers would work an average of 11.4 hours a day. The workers were very tired. The factories were very rugged and dangerous, there were fast rapidly moving parts exposed and that cuased many accidents with adults and children.

Unlike today, the government took little interest in creating safety standards or in regulating how businesses treated workers. The typical industrial employee worked long hours under dangerous conditions for little pay. Many workers were poor immigrants who had little choice but to keep working despite the conditions. If

Document 1 describes the working conditions of British factories. In this excerpt, a testimony is given by a 28-year-old worker who began working in the mills at the age of 10. During that time he would work 16 hours straight with only one 40-minute break for lunch at noon. This left no time for school and resulted in the man being able to read but not write. And at times the children were even whipped to keep them awake.

Young children were often forced to work long hours in factories, often under dangerous and inhumane conditions. Many children were required to operate heavy machinery and work with dangerous chemicals. The long hours and grueling work took a toll on the children's physical and mental health, and many suffered from injuries, illnesses, and premature death as a result. “The long hours of these children working in the hot sun,” is a quote from document C that supports my claim. First and foremost this shows what kind of treatment the children were subjected to.

Child Labor in the Early 1900's There was a time in America when it was common for children to be working intense amounts in the factories of the labor industry. By 1904, 50,000 workers in the South were under the age of 16 with 20,000 under the age of 12. Having children working in the industry was dangerous and unreasonable and resulted in countless accidents in the workspace. In the early 1900's, children who worked in the labor industry were exploited as they were forced to work long hours, were deprived of an education, and ultimately put their lives at risk until The National Child Labor Committee began advocating for reform.

As the children grew up, they had no concept of anything other than working. All they knew was to work. Lastly, the working conditions were horrifying. The machines were bound to dysfunction and each time a child would have to go in and fix it. There was no saying what would happen to that child if the machine started working all of the sudden.

Factories were not the most sanitary  places to work especially for an innocent and fragile child. Children were exposed to many different illnesses while working in factories. They worked for such long hours without any proper ventilation. There were minimal breaks but very long shifts. In factories, many fatal accidents took place involving children.

In the 1920s, there were about 1 million children ages 10 to 15 working. The children were working on farms, in factories, served as messengers, and they did just about everything. They were working long hours throughout the day and only getting paid minimum wage. Factories would choose children instead of adults and they would pay the children less money. The children would go to work instead of getting an education and going to school.

Working conditions for children were frequently hazardous and unsanitary. As seen in document 2, the working conditions for these children in the factories were deplorable. They were filthy, dusty, and cramped, making them an unsuitable environment for children to spend so much time in every day. When forced to work in these factories, children faced numerous health issues, and some even died. Child labor began to decline as the labor and reform movements grew and labor standards in general improved, giving working people and other social reformers more political clout to demand legislation regulating child labor.

While Congress passed such laws in 1916 and 1918, the Supreme Court declared them unconstitutional” (History.com). While there were efforts present as early as 1916, it took another 22 years for child labor to officially become illegal. While many people focused on the legislative aspect of the Progressive Movement, there are other aspects that are more important for our argument. This movement also discusses the role that education and public awareness campaigns played in the reform

The U.S. Congress passed two laws in 1918 and 1922. The supreme court declared both of them unconstitutional. In 1924 the congress proposed a constitutional amendment prohibiting child labor, but the states did not approve it. Many Americans were against child labor and accomplished many things to stop it. Then, in 1938, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act; one of the laws.

Child labor during the 18th and 19th century did not only rapidly develop an industrial revolution, but it also created a situation of difficulty and abuse by depriving children of edjucation, good physical health, and the proper emotional wellness and stability. In the late 1700 's and early 1800 's, power-driven machines replaced hand labor for making most manufactured items. Many of America 's factories needed a numerous amount of workers for a cheap salary. Because of this, the amount of child laborers have been growing rapidly over the early 1800s.

Child labor was a great concern in the Industrial revolution but very few people did something to stop it. Women and Children were forced to work more than 10 hours a day with only forty minutes to have lunch. Elizabeth Bentley once said that they didn’t have any time to have breakfast or drink anything during the day. They worked standing up and if they didn’t do their work on time they were strapped (whipped). Children were treating like they were not important, like they didn’t deserve a better life.