The Dreadful Effects of All Photographs by Lewis Hines Lecture # 4 The Dreadful Effects of Child Labor Believed that if people could see for themselves the abuses and injustice of child labor, they would demand laws to end those evils. All Photographs by Lewis Hines Objective~ Understand how Child Labor lead to new reforms/laws

Hit all time high during I.R Denied education/normal childhood Compared to slavery children were forced to work in order to help their families keep food on the table. working-class parents were often accused of greedily not caring about the well-being of their children. Requiring them to go to work denied them educational opportunities and reduced their life-time earnings.

National Child Labor Committee Factory Act of 1833 Limited # of hours children of certain ages could work illegal to hire under 9yrs 9-13yrs can’t work more than 8 hrs 14-18yrs can’t work more than 12 hrs must attend school for 2 hours a day. laws were often ignored/did not apply to immigrants Children 9 to 13 years old were only allowed to work 8 hours a day. 14 to 18 years old could not work more than 12 hours a day. Children under 9 were not allowed to work at all. Appointed officials to make sure the act was carried out

Background Photographer, Lewis Hines documented and exposed numerous violations of child labor laws As a result, many states passed stricter laws thus they were often exploited and wound up living in slums working long hours for little pay. Attempts at child labor reform continued, aided by Hine's photographs.

Common for children as young as 6 to work 12-14 hours a day for little pay Punishments for being late- “weighted”

The Faces of Lost Youth children were forced to work in order to help their families keep food on the table.

Orphans were the major victims Many factory owners would buy children from orphanages-property of the factory owner=no pay Factory owners justified the absence of pay by saying that they gave the orphans food, shelter, and clothing, all of which were far below decent conditions. -signed contracts that virtually made them

Mining~ The most Dangerous Job I.R. increased demands coal and iron Dangers Collapsed Tunnels/Explosives Dark Flooding Coal Dust Destroyed Lungs

Cruel and unusual treatment safety virtually neglected Accidents with machinery were wide spread Children worked long hours in dangerous and unhealthy conditions Causing mutations and physical deformities

Federal Wage and Hour Law-1941 work week: 40 hours minimum wage: 40 cents per hour Prohibited child labor under the age of 16 Existence of Child Labor today 250 million children aged 5 to 14 work in developing countries 120 million work full time in various jobs often under hazardous conditions and crude living conditions. India/Asia/Africa   Informal Labor (vending, begging, portering, etc.)   Commercial Labor (factory work, farming, mining, etc.)   Informal and Commercial Labor   Not known to have child labor.

So Stop Whining