The Importance Of Child Labor In The United States

Child labor was one of the negative effects of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, factories used the cheaper labor force and ease of manipulation to mistreat the children for a greater profit margin. In 1810 over two million children worked up to eighteen hours a day in dangerous and harmful jobs, often without break or adequate nourishment. It can be seen that many parents can not safely regulate their own children's’ labor outside of family farms. The United States government has the right and duty to step up and protect the health and development of children by placing restrictions on child labor. The rights and protection of children during the industrial revolution was sorely lacking, especially in that of their presence in the industrial workforce. Safety was lax or nonexistent, the Factory Investigating Commission in an outline of findings to the Supreme Court stated that “there were persons suffering from contagious and infectious diseases...children with this disease were found playing with manufactured objects” (1914). This was representative of some health hazards children were exposed to in factories and tenement houses across
of Nassau County in New York protest in a telegram to the governor of New York on the behalf of their own rights as parents to manage their child’s labor, “...we aim to protect our rights as mothers and exaggerated reports of exploitations of child labor is not enough reason to forfeit our [birthrights],” (Chatfield 1933-42). Through photographs, reports, and other data, it can be fully proven that the unrestricted child labor is fully detrimental to all aspects of a child’s growth and development. Parents in the United States neglected their birthright to protect their children from such abuse and endangerment, and so the Federal and State governments must make it their job to place restrictions on child labor that allow labor to be limited and more safely reconstructed and