Alabama’s Campaign Against Child Labor From Pruitt, P. & Sallee, S.

1900 Many Alabama families had left farms in depressions of 1880s and 1890s to work in mills Men,women and children all employable 30% of 8,000+ mill workers were children

Labor Union Activity Nationally Against child labor Concerned that low child wages depressed wages for adult workers Sought to build support for restricting child labor Sent Englishwoman Irene Ashy to Alabama to gain support of middle class women

Early Alabama Alliance Middle class club women Edgar Gardner Murphy, Rector of Episcopal church in Montgomery Ashby found 430 children < 12 who worked for 12+ hours daily Testified to Alabama legislature using humanitarian arguments

Mill Owners Argued for Child Labor Mills kept poor whites from poverty Factory work good training for kids Parents expected kids to work Parents would move to Georgia if Alabama limited child labor Economic and social disaster Efforts at reform killed in 1901

Murphy Continued Fight Worked with Alabama women’s groups and Montgomery Ministerial Assn Noted that Massachusetts had outlawed child labor Noted high profits at mills

First Restrictions Minor 1903 children could work no more than 66 hours per week 1907 maximum reduced to 60 hours 1907 kids younger than 16 could not work at night Inspector of mills designated, but regulations had little impact

1911 National Child Labor Committee had national convention in Birmingham Result of activities of Birmingham’s Nellie Kimball Murdoch (early Alabama SW) Theodore Roosevelt, Jane Addams and Florence Kelley were there Exhibit of Lewis Hine’s Alabama pictures of child labor

Photos demonstrated that child labor problems were not just in mills and mines Used in pamphlet aimed at 1915 legislature Minimum age for work raised to 14; no night work for children under 16 Also activities toward compulsory education (80 days through age 15)

Girl working at mill

Young Coal Miners

Mill Work

Continuing Organizing by Women Murdoch started organizing county “advisory boards” on child welfare Helped juvenile court with cases of abused and neglected children Child Welfare in Alabama produced with help of UA professors

1919 Reforms Child labor restricted to 48 hours/week and no more than 8 hours/day Compulsory education for all between 8-16 at 100 days/year Needed 4 th grade education to work Created state Department of Child Welfare

Lorraine Bedsole Bush Appointed first head of Alabama Child Welfare Department “General oversight over the welfare work for minor children” 3 female factory inspectors

CWD was the culmination of work of women progressives in Alabama Focused on right to childhood, freedom from premature exploitation and education at least to literacy Percentage of children employed in Alabama fell from 45.4% in 1900 to 24.1% in 1920