Child Labor
Child Labor is surely a good thing, I mean how could it not be? We get more work done, and most of the time its good work, we don't have to pay the children as much, they work with less complaints, and we don't even have to have healthy conditions for them. Children don't matter, they don't need good working conditions, they don't need to go to school. After all they are only 8-16, they can handle breathing in deadly fumes all day, working more than 8 hours a day along with school (if they go), it should be a breeze for them. The dangerous machines and dangerous work conditions are nothing to worry about.
My name is Lewis Hine, muckraker. I hope you already figured this out but the previous paragraph was sarcasm. If you agreed with any of those things I personally think you have messed up morals and values. Our children should not be allowed to be put through that kind of work. I mean they are children for goodness sake. They should be in a safe place, not a place with knives and saws everywhere. These children should be able to be getting an education, they should be out playing games with their school mates and friends. They shouldn't be stuck in a stinky factory all day with sharp tools all around them. Children would live much longer if they weren't in a room filled with stinky and harmful chemicals. I was fed up with this kind of treatment to our children.
I took the pleasure in photographing some of the work factories and children while working. I took pictures of sickly looking children, children lifting and moving things that were very obviously to heavy for them. Pictures of dirt everywhere and all over them, glass laying on the floor just waiting to be stepped on. I took all the pictures I could and I documented them everywhere I could to let people know of these harsh conditions of their children. I helped pass laws to improve working conditions and change hours worked or age limit.
In 1917 the Smith-Hughes act was passed that provided money to states that agreed to improve their public schools. This gave a children that didn't want to work or that could go to school an alternative to working. These schools started providing vocational education programs to better their teaching. In 1929 every state banned children under 14 from working, and in 36 states they prohibited children under 16 to work in factories at night or for more than eight hours a day. In 1941 a law was passed that overruled the 1918 Keating-Owen act. This made businesses that shipped goods out of state abide by the rule that children could only work outside of school hours, and children under 18 could not work in jobs that were hazardous to their health.
In my opinion every law that was made against child labor was a good law. They keep our children safe, and give an opportunity to kids to go to school and get an education. Children probably will start to live longer and grow healthier, and our kids kids will live even longer because they are not exposed to these dangerous fumes and tools. But on the flip side these laws are bad in some ways. If less children are able to work than we have less workers. We would have to hire adults to replace their jobs and adults have to be paid more, they have to be retaught everything, and they complain more frequently. I believe that the bad things are totally weighed over by the good things. I think our childrens safety and health is much more important then production of goods.
In the future our children will not need to work unless they choose to work, they will have fair wages and over the top working conditions, our children will be treated equally to the adults and taught the same things as the adults learn. In the future school will be mandatory and it will come before work. In the future it will be hard to balance school work, activities, and work life, but it will be possible. Many children will become very successful because they did start working at a young age and learn skills they need later in life at an early age. Below I have attached photographs of some of the children before these laws were made.
My name is Lewis Hine, muckraker. I hope you already figured this out but the previous paragraph was sarcasm. If you agreed with any of those things I personally think you have messed up morals and values. Our children should not be allowed to be put through that kind of work. I mean they are children for goodness sake. They should be in a safe place, not a place with knives and saws everywhere. These children should be able to be getting an education, they should be out playing games with their school mates and friends. They shouldn't be stuck in a stinky factory all day with sharp tools all around them. Children would live much longer if they weren't in a room filled with stinky and harmful chemicals. I was fed up with this kind of treatment to our children.
I took the pleasure in photographing some of the work factories and children while working. I took pictures of sickly looking children, children lifting and moving things that were very obviously to heavy for them. Pictures of dirt everywhere and all over them, glass laying on the floor just waiting to be stepped on. I took all the pictures I could and I documented them everywhere I could to let people know of these harsh conditions of their children. I helped pass laws to improve working conditions and change hours worked or age limit.
In 1917 the Smith-Hughes act was passed that provided money to states that agreed to improve their public schools. This gave a children that didn't want to work or that could go to school an alternative to working. These schools started providing vocational education programs to better their teaching. In 1929 every state banned children under 14 from working, and in 36 states they prohibited children under 16 to work in factories at night or for more than eight hours a day. In 1941 a law was passed that overruled the 1918 Keating-Owen act. This made businesses that shipped goods out of state abide by the rule that children could only work outside of school hours, and children under 18 could not work in jobs that were hazardous to their health.
In my opinion every law that was made against child labor was a good law. They keep our children safe, and give an opportunity to kids to go to school and get an education. Children probably will start to live longer and grow healthier, and our kids kids will live even longer because they are not exposed to these dangerous fumes and tools. But on the flip side these laws are bad in some ways. If less children are able to work than we have less workers. We would have to hire adults to replace their jobs and adults have to be paid more, they have to be retaught everything, and they complain more frequently. I believe that the bad things are totally weighed over by the good things. I think our childrens safety and health is much more important then production of goods.
In the future our children will not need to work unless they choose to work, they will have fair wages and over the top working conditions, our children will be treated equally to the adults and taught the same things as the adults learn. In the future school will be mandatory and it will come before work. In the future it will be hard to balance school work, activities, and work life, but it will be possible. Many children will become very successful because they did start working at a young age and learn skills they need later in life at an early age. Below I have attached photographs of some of the children before these laws were made.
Davis, K. (n.d.). Documenting "The Other Half": The Social Reform Photography of Jacob Riis and Lewis Hine. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
The History Place - Child Labor in America: About Photographer Lewis Hine. (2014, January 1). Retrieved October 9, 2014.
Lewis Hine. (2014, April 10). Retrieved October 9, 2014.
Szarkowski, J. (n.d.). Lewis W. Hine. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
Lewis W. Hine: Documenting Child Labour in America 1908-1912. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2014.
The History Place - Child Labor in America: About Photographer Lewis Hine. (2014, January 1). Retrieved October 9, 2014.
Lewis Hine. (2014, April 10). Retrieved October 9, 2014.
Szarkowski, J. (n.d.). Lewis W. Hine. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
Lewis W. Hine: Documenting Child Labour in America 1908-1912. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2014.