Reform Efforts
Early efforts to ban child labor began at the state level. A number of laws were passed in the states to protect children. Some thoughtful and caring reformers were motivated by the number of children working in such desperate circumstances. They worked to pass federal laws banning child labor.
The National Child Labor Committee, formed in 1904, worked to eliminate child labor in the United States. The members searched various industries that commonly hired large numbers of children, including “glass factories, textile mills, coal mines, canneries, as well as the street trades and field work” (Bartoletti 184). Much of the information they found wasn’t enough to convince people that child labor was bad. The committee then hired a photographer named Lewis Hine to take pictures of children at work. Lewis Hine often snuck into the factories acting as a "fire inspector or a salesman. Once inside, he pretended to photograph the building or machinery, not the children” (Bartoletti 186-187). The photographs prompted Americans to realize the dangers of the conditions in which the children worked. Even though many states had enacted a variety of laws protecting children in the early 1900s, these laws did not produce results as rapidly as the reformers would have liked. It took twenty more years for federal laws to be enacted. In the meantime, "children would continue to work for long hours for low wages, especially in sweatshops, in fields, and in the southern cotton mills" (Bartoletti 188).
The Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916 was the first federal reform act to be passed. “The act banned the sale of products from any factory, shop, or cannery that employed children under the age of fourteen, from any mine that employed children under the age of sixteen, and from any facility that had children under the age of sixteen working at night or for more than eight hours during the day” (Keating-Owen Child Labor Act). This law tried to use the commerce clause of the Constitution to “prevent interstate commerce in the products of child labor” (Transcript of Keating-Owen). The Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in 1918. This happened because the justices decided the law abused the power of the government to regulate interstate commerce (Keating-Owen Child Labor Act).
The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) was passed as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal. NIRA was supposed to reduce industrial unemployment. This would happen by raising wages and getting rid of unjust trades practices. "Under NIRA, minimum age standards are incorporated in five hundred separate industrial codes" (Bartoletti 195). By 1935 the National Industrial Recovery Act had been ruled unconstitutional. One year later, the employment of children had grown by 150 percent (Bartoletti 195).
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was passed in 1938 and bans the hiring of children under age fourteen completely and the hiring of children under age sixteen during the school year. The act also prevents children from producing goods which will be shipped across state lines and overseas. It set the minimum age to work in dangerous trades at eighteen (Bartoletti 195). This law “remains the primary federal law dealing with the employment of children” (Whittaker).
Today, the struggle to end all forms of child labor continues around the world. It is an ongoing fight to keep the lives of children safe. These efforts to abolish child labor were a turning point in American History because they have protected children from being eploited by unscrupulous business owners. Today, children can now attend school to further their education and are not doomed to the fate of many previous kids. “I’ve decided I cannot make an honest living and will go to bootlegging,” said one youth who had been turned down repeatedly because “we can’t afford to take a boy with three fingers off” (Zimand).
The National Child Labor Committee, formed in 1904, worked to eliminate child labor in the United States. The members searched various industries that commonly hired large numbers of children, including “glass factories, textile mills, coal mines, canneries, as well as the street trades and field work” (Bartoletti 184). Much of the information they found wasn’t enough to convince people that child labor was bad. The committee then hired a photographer named Lewis Hine to take pictures of children at work. Lewis Hine often snuck into the factories acting as a "fire inspector or a salesman. Once inside, he pretended to photograph the building or machinery, not the children” (Bartoletti 186-187). The photographs prompted Americans to realize the dangers of the conditions in which the children worked. Even though many states had enacted a variety of laws protecting children in the early 1900s, these laws did not produce results as rapidly as the reformers would have liked. It took twenty more years for federal laws to be enacted. In the meantime, "children would continue to work for long hours for low wages, especially in sweatshops, in fields, and in the southern cotton mills" (Bartoletti 188).
The Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916 was the first federal reform act to be passed. “The act banned the sale of products from any factory, shop, or cannery that employed children under the age of fourteen, from any mine that employed children under the age of sixteen, and from any facility that had children under the age of sixteen working at night or for more than eight hours during the day” (Keating-Owen Child Labor Act). This law tried to use the commerce clause of the Constitution to “prevent interstate commerce in the products of child labor” (Transcript of Keating-Owen). The Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in 1918. This happened because the justices decided the law abused the power of the government to regulate interstate commerce (Keating-Owen Child Labor Act).
The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) was passed as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal. NIRA was supposed to reduce industrial unemployment. This would happen by raising wages and getting rid of unjust trades practices. "Under NIRA, minimum age standards are incorporated in five hundred separate industrial codes" (Bartoletti 195). By 1935 the National Industrial Recovery Act had been ruled unconstitutional. One year later, the employment of children had grown by 150 percent (Bartoletti 195).
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was passed in 1938 and bans the hiring of children under age fourteen completely and the hiring of children under age sixteen during the school year. The act also prevents children from producing goods which will be shipped across state lines and overseas. It set the minimum age to work in dangerous trades at eighteen (Bartoletti 195). This law “remains the primary federal law dealing with the employment of children” (Whittaker).
Today, the struggle to end all forms of child labor continues around the world. It is an ongoing fight to keep the lives of children safe. These efforts to abolish child labor were a turning point in American History because they have protected children from being eploited by unscrupulous business owners. Today, children can now attend school to further their education and are not doomed to the fate of many previous kids. “I’ve decided I cannot make an honest living and will go to bootlegging,” said one youth who had been turned down repeatedly because “we can’t afford to take a boy with three fingers off” (Zimand).