Poverty
...t have to work in factories (“Child Labor” 450). The age at which children went to work was very young. It was not uncommon for seven-year-olds to work in mines or at other dangerous places. These children worked eighteen hours or more a day. Parents encouraged their children to work, because the choice was to work or starve. Many children grew up to be illiterate because they couldn’t go to school. Because of child labor, children became crippled and were prone to diseases because of their improper diets (Greene 14). So, why did America accept child labor? For one thing, most people had little knowledge of what was going on (Greene 20). The government did not record statistics of the working children. Another reason for accepting child labor was that many people believed that working children kept parents from becoming dependent upon public charity. In addition, children also kept production cost down (21). A major concern in the early 1900’s was the children’s lack of education. Since working children could not go to school, many became illiterate (Greene 21). Reading the Bible was extremely important to the citizens of early America, and was believed to encouraged religious values. But, in order to read the bible, a child must first learn how to read. Since school children were allowed to work up to 84 hours a week, (the same as adults) a child working that many hours had no time whatsoever to attend school nor have the energy (22). But in 1836, Massachusetts passed a law requiring children to be in school three months each year. However, this law wasn’t enforced, so unfortunately children continued to work long hours (24). Industrialization in the United States proceeded slowly until after the Civil war, when economic conditions changed rapidly and expanded their industry. The combination of critical labor shortage and the preference employers had for cheap labor encouraged the nation to accept child labor (“Child Labor” 457). In the southern states, children became virtual slaves and replaced black slaves in the mills. Conditions were terrible, especially in the cotton mills, where work was dull and unhealthy. Children died from tuberculosis, chronic bronchitis, and other lung diseases as a result of working long hours in a humid, lint-filled environment. The accident rate for southern mill children, under sixteen years old was twice as high as that of adults (Greene 24). Lewis Hine, whom the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) hired to document the conditions of working Americans, made an enormous contribution to the fight against child labor. His photographs and reports had a tremendous impact on the public (Greene 46). Hine was able to get children to talk about their 6 day workweek. Most of the children he spoke to had either injured hands, aching backs, or had quite some fear about suddenly being crushed to death by falling coal. he recorded the tedious work the children were forced to do everyday. He reported that, “The children get tired and sick easily, because they have to breathe coal dust instead of good pure air” (Greene 49). Hine went down into the mines and photographed young mine workers. Their faces were black with coal dust, and you could feel their pain just from looking into their eyes. The only light in all that darkness came from small lights on the children’s hats. Hine also photographed the children outside of the mines. Some were crippled from mining accidents, while many others were severely sick. All had dull, lifeless eyes that helplessly stared at the work encompassing them (Greene 50). Hine continued to take disturbing photographs of working children. His pictures revealed the truth and shocked the public. From witnessing the pain and suffering of these children, he knew he had to try to end child labor. He and the NCLC were committed to the idea that a uneducated child would most likely be in poverty forever (Greene 51). They felt that people will soon realize that it is in the best interest of their child not to work, as working may endanger the health and development of their child. In general, all the efforts must be directed towards the elimination of poverty. Therefore, the world would be a better place for all children when they are brought up in a loving and caring environment, and do not have to work and toil right from the early stages of their lives. Together, they wanted more people to take action, to abolish child labor (52). Today, child labor is defined as the illegal employment of children. As in the past, child protection laws vary from state to state, but the Fair Labor Standards Act sets a minimum standard to all working children in the United States (Greene 74). Sixteen and seventeen-year-olds may work at any time for unlimited hours in all jobs not declared hazardous by the Secretary of Labor. State laws, however, are more restrictive. By doing so, children are more motivated to work for the same reasons adults work, and when given the opportunity most American teenagers choose to work (75). More youths work in sales or food service than in any other field. Although now there are restrictions regarding youth employment, there is also a downside. Many students put work before school enabling them not to give full attention in their classes. “When children go to school tired, their grades often go down, attendance becomes spotty, and drop outs increase”. Teachers then tend to lower their expectations and give less homework, because too many students fail to complete their assignments (Greene 84). Of course, accidents still happen. Most of these ...