The Child's Life
For many of us today, being a child is quite easy. During the Industrial Revolution, lives for young people were not as easy going. They had to work all day, every day. Many kids lost limbs and fingers to hazardous machinery and were declared unsuitable to work. "Clothing manufacturers exploited little girls by using their nimble fingers to run fast-moving, dangerous machines" (Stein 10).
The work day of a child included many tasks and endless hours of grueling work for little pay. The long work day was often spent working in small, unsanitary factories or in the farm fields. Mill girls spent their days watching and tending to the spinning machines. Many of the older girls would make sure the bobbins were full of thread. “They suffered from ringing ears, backaches, sore legs, and swollen feet” (Bartoletti 12). Mine owners hired small boys to go through the shafts to get coal. Young people known as breaker boys “sat hunched over a long coal chute picking out stones and pieces of slate from the coal that rushed by them” (Stein 5). Some business owners appeared selfish. Asa G. Candler, one of the Coca-Cola founders said, "The most beautiful sight that we see is the child at labor. As early as he may get at labor the more beautiful, the more useful does his life get to be" (Stein 9).
During the course of the work day children were at risk of losing their lives. Some were killed in accidents on the job. Many of the injuries and deaths were caused by sharp machines and the dangerous surroundings in the factories. "Employers had no legal responsibility for injuries or deaths suffered in their factories and few owners felt any obligation to keep workers safe" (Hillstrom 58). Children suffered from lung diseases caused by inhaling dust. Some factories were contaminated with tuberculosis. Because the workers were stuck in small factories, diseases were more likely to spread. Also, many of the factory workers were kept inside for days on end and rarely saw the sun, which affected their vitamin D levels. "Each year, in the sixteen states which take the trouble to find out what is happening to their young workers, no less than a thousand children under eighteen years are permanently disabled and another hundred are killed” (Zimand).
Many children did not get the opportunity to go to school so they had no education. With no education they were doomed to work in factories for the rest of their lives and made very little money. With little income, the families were sentenced to live in tenements with several other families in one room. They could not afford to consume a balanced diet. Business owners also noticed that hungry children would work for half their wages and took advantage of them. Owners of the factories would raise the rent at the boarding houses where the kids lived without raising their paychecks (Bartoletti 17).
The story of child labor was a very heartbreaking stage in our nation’s history. Many people’s lives were drastically altered by child labor. The lives, photographs, and memories of these children will never be forgotten. "Justice is lacking from a civilization that requires child labor...Of all expensive luxuries the most expensive and most cruel is child labor" (Hirsch).
The work day of a child included many tasks and endless hours of grueling work for little pay. The long work day was often spent working in small, unsanitary factories or in the farm fields. Mill girls spent their days watching and tending to the spinning machines. Many of the older girls would make sure the bobbins were full of thread. “They suffered from ringing ears, backaches, sore legs, and swollen feet” (Bartoletti 12). Mine owners hired small boys to go through the shafts to get coal. Young people known as breaker boys “sat hunched over a long coal chute picking out stones and pieces of slate from the coal that rushed by them” (Stein 5). Some business owners appeared selfish. Asa G. Candler, one of the Coca-Cola founders said, "The most beautiful sight that we see is the child at labor. As early as he may get at labor the more beautiful, the more useful does his life get to be" (Stein 9).
During the course of the work day children were at risk of losing their lives. Some were killed in accidents on the job. Many of the injuries and deaths were caused by sharp machines and the dangerous surroundings in the factories. "Employers had no legal responsibility for injuries or deaths suffered in their factories and few owners felt any obligation to keep workers safe" (Hillstrom 58). Children suffered from lung diseases caused by inhaling dust. Some factories were contaminated with tuberculosis. Because the workers were stuck in small factories, diseases were more likely to spread. Also, many of the factory workers were kept inside for days on end and rarely saw the sun, which affected their vitamin D levels. "Each year, in the sixteen states which take the trouble to find out what is happening to their young workers, no less than a thousand children under eighteen years are permanently disabled and another hundred are killed” (Zimand).
Many children did not get the opportunity to go to school so they had no education. With no education they were doomed to work in factories for the rest of their lives and made very little money. With little income, the families were sentenced to live in tenements with several other families in one room. They could not afford to consume a balanced diet. Business owners also noticed that hungry children would work for half their wages and took advantage of them. Owners of the factories would raise the rent at the boarding houses where the kids lived without raising their paychecks (Bartoletti 17).
The story of child labor was a very heartbreaking stage in our nation’s history. Many people’s lives were drastically altered by child labor. The lives, photographs, and memories of these children will never be forgotten. "Justice is lacking from a civilization that requires child labor...Of all expensive luxuries the most expensive and most cruel is child labor" (Hirsch).