What kids really had to go through in the 1800’s

When kids started working Most parents couldn’t support their whole family which were usually larger than today’s family, so they had their kids get a job. Most of the time the kids were 5 years old when they got their first jobs! Sometimes even children of the age of 3 were made to work by doing simple chores and cleaning and sweeping factory floors.

How long they worked Children did not get to choose where they wanted to work, they would go where they were told to. Cotton mills and textile factories where the worst places to work. Children worked extremely long hours, and in harsh conditions many that adults wouldn’t even work in.

Coal mines Coal mines where horrible to work in. The mine roof would collapse and there were a lot of explosions going on all the time. There were a lot of injuries. What machines do now men, woman, and children did back then. Younger kids worked as “trappers”, they would work the trap doors in the mines. They would sit in hollowed out holes and hold strings to the door. When they heard the coal wagon come they would pull the string. This was one of the easier jobs but very, very lonely! Older kids might be “coal bearers", were you carried coal on your back out of the mines all day.

The hazards Since children did the jobs that adults didn’t want there where many hazards children had to face. Most of the kids died before the age of 25! Also crippled and deformed children where normal to see. There were many diseases where they worked especially if they worked as a chimney sweeper. Their lungs would fill up with ash and other chemicals. Also their Master would burn their feet with a fire in the fireplace if they didn’t clean the chimney fast enough.

What laws where passed The first laws were passed in 1802 but they where only for factory and cotton mill workers, and they were based on shortening the work day to 12 from 15 to 18 hours. But those where ineffective. Then in the 1830’s laborer groups formed to work on shortening the number of days worked from 7 to 6 a week. Some even got factories not to let kids under 9 years old work. Today kids under 16 years old cannot work in factories or mills. Also many places only take you if you have a high school diploma.

Today Now a days there is not child labor problems in the U.S., but overseas it is still a major problem. Kids are making many things like shirts, shoes, and pants. Also there is nothing we can really do about it. But there are groups, that you can support that negotiate with the companies to reduce children’s working hours, to have better working conditions, and make their lives better. These organizations try to buy the children out of their work contracts.

What I am trying to teach you Children now a days have it pretty easy, I should know I am one. We don’t have to work for anything, and we take that for granted. So what I am trying to teach you is that we have it easy and back then life was very hard. Children didn’t get to choose whether they worked or not. Most didn’t even get a proper education. Also a lot of them didn’t live past 25 years old. Life was hard then and we should appreciate what we have and better yet, try and help other children around the world by stopping companies from using children as laborers. Put an end to child labor. These countries use children just like America did in the 1800’s.

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