Child Labor Social Studies Standards Literacy.RH.6-8 – Primary or secondary sources, Visual Sources Time, Continuity, and Change

Do Now Write down what you see in the picture that is posted next and what you think is going on.

Fish cutters at a canning company in Maine. Ages range from 7 to 12. They live near the factory. The 7-year-old boy in front, Byron Hamilton, has a badly cut finger but helps his brother regularly. Behind him is his brother George, age 11, who cut his finger half off while working. Ralph, on the left, displays his knife and also a badly cut finger. They and many youngsters said they were always cutting themselves. George earns a dollar some days usually 75 cents. Some of the others say they earn a dollar when they work all day. At times they start at 7 a.m. and work all day until midnight.

"There is work that profits children, and there is work that brings profit only to employers. The object of employing children is not to train them, but to get high profits from their work." -- Lewis Hine, 1908

Lewis Hine New York City schoolteacher and photographer “A picture could tell a powerful story” Quit his teaching job to become an investigative photographer He was careful to document every photograph with precise facts and figures. To obtain captions for his pictures, he interviewed the children on some pretext and then scribbled his notes with his hand hidden inside his pocket. Because he used subterfuge to take his photographs, he believed that he had to be "double-sure that my photo data was 100% pure--no retouching or fakery of any kind."

Group work

Group 1

Some boys and girls were so small they had to climb up on to the spinning frame to mend broken threads and to put back the empty bobbins. Bibb Mill No. 1. Macon, Georgia.

Group 2

Miners: View of the Ewen Breaker of the Pennsylvania Coal Co. The dust was so dense at times as to obscure the view. This dust penetrated the utmost recesses of the boys' lungs. A kind of slave- driver sometimes stands over the boys, prodding or kicking them into obedience. South Pittston, Pennsylvania.

Faces of Lost Youth: Furman Owens, 12-years-old. Can't read. Doesn't know his A,B,C's. Said, "Yes I want to learn but can't when I work all the time." Been in the mills 4 years, 3 years in the Olympia Mill. Columbia, South Carolina.

The Factory: Young cigar makers in Engelhardt & Co. Three boys under 14. Labor leaders told me in busy times many small boys and girls were employed. Youngsters all smoke. Tampa, Florida.

Interesting Fact Union Manufactures, Patapsco Falls, Maryland, Employees 6 men 58 boys 120 girls Source- University of Iowa

U.S. Child Labor Law Minimum Age: 14 Years 18 for hazardous work Maximum Hours: 18/week during school 40/week during vacation Reasonable Hours: 7am-7pm during school 7am-9pm during vacation Source: University of Iowa

Around the world National laws often include exemptions Nepal: minimum age of 14 for most work…plantations and brick kilns are exempt Kenya: prohibits children under 16 from industrial work… but excludes agriculture Bangladesh: specifies a minimum age for work… but sets no regulations on domestic work or agricultural work.

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Homework Child Labor is still a problem in many places today. For homework find an image with a backstory or an article about child labor in today’s society from anywhere in the world. Be ready to share with the class your article or photograph.