Like other developed countries, the United States has labor laws that protect children from being exploited in the workplace. But this has not always been the case.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, children were seen as a cheap labor source, and to help out their families financially, many children were forced to work in factories, mines, and elsewhere, under dirty and dangerous conditions, for very low wages.

In this learning activity from SIRS Decades (free trial), discover more about the destructive impact of child labor during the 19th and early 20th centuries.



When the technological advances of the Industrial Revolution came to the United States in the 1800s, it meant that machines could replace hand labor for many tasks and allow factories, mines, and other facilities to operate more productively and efficiently. As this transition occurred, some factory owners realized that instead of hiring adults to operate these machines, they could employ children to run them more cheaply.

However, while such arrangements benefitted the factory owners, young employees did not fare as well. Working conditions at that time were often oppressive. Many factories were dark, dirty, and dangerous. Driven by poverty, these children were required to work long days (as many as 18 hours a day), which made schooling difficult or impossible. And there was little time for them to rest or relax.

Over the years, there were attempts to regulate the practice of child labor, but many of those attempts failed or the laws were not enforced. It wasn't until 1938 that Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which set age limits for work during school hours, for certain types of jobs, and for people doing dangerous work. And since that time, both federal and state governments have passed additional laws that limit the role of children in the workplace.

Although the exploitation of children in the workplace has been greatly reduced because of the passage and enforcement of modern labor laws, child labor remains an issue in the United States among the children of migrant farm workers, for example, whom current law does not adequately protect. And the use of child labor is a much more significant problem in many developing countries. Driven by poverty, these children work in factories, on farms, in small businesses, and in other enterprises. UNICEF estimates that 158 million children aged 5–14 are engaged in child labor—one in six children in the world.

Learning Activity

1. Assign students to do a search in SIRS Decades (start page) for content related to the topic of child labor. They should be able to find a variety of content, such as photographs, a petition, newspaper articles, etc.
   
   Students should read this material in order to come to an understanding of why child labor was such a controversial social problem in the 19th and early 20th centuries and why it was eventually outlawed in the United States and elsewhere. As they read, students should compile a list of reasons why people opposed these exploitative practices.
   
   
2. Have students do their own research to discover where and under what circumstances child labor remains a problem in our own time.
   
   
3. Assign class members, either individually or in groups, to create PowerPoint presentations in which they draw on historical examples and historical documents in order to draw attention to the harm of current child labor practices and to motivate others to oppose such practices.

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