The Role Of Child Labor In The United States

Industrialization brought many changes to the United States. With the industrial movement came the introduction of factories. These factories provided many people with new job opportunities that had not been available before. Although the United States was growing economically, there were many new problems that emerged because of industrialization. Problems that arose in cities were health hazards, safety hazards, city waste pollutants, and child labor. The three key points that I will discuss are: The messages from photos about child labor during the industrialization Era in America, how child labor has changed in The United States throughout time, and what caused child labor to change due to the industrialization era. Child labor was at its peak during the industrialization era. Working in the factories was dangerous, because it was extremely unsanitary and unsafe. Factories were especially not the place for a child to be in or be working in. The photos show us how the children were working in hazardous conditions, with the intention of making a little amount of money. One can also derive from the photos that a well percentage of the workforce at the time was made up of children. In the photographs
one can also see the agony and pain that these children undergo as they live life working day after day. Furthermore, one can also conclude from the photos that the factories were filthy and it was no place for children to be in. The role of child labor in the United States has changed drastically during the past one hundred years.
Although children needed to work at an early age to provide for their families during the industrial era, today this is no longer a problem in the United States. In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act took effect. With that, children would no longer be tormented by the hazardous conditions of the factories. Today the legal working age in the United States is somewhere around sixteen years of age. This restriction enables children to be able to get a proper education without having to worry about working. The laws provided today by the government help aid children from being exposed to traitorous conditions and from being thrown into the work force at such a young
age. There were many events that triggered change in child labor in the United States. One of the events that triggered the change was the spread of dangerous diseases due to unsanitary conditions present in the factories. Children and other factory workers began getting severely sick because of this it was later clearly visible that factories were no place for children to be in. Children also lost arms and limbs, because the machinery in the factories was too dangerous for children to handle. People realized that with everything going on it was best for children to focus on their education, and to leave the work for the adults. Later another major event that caused the depreciation of child labor was the start of the great depression. Child labor was prominent during the industrial revolution in the United States. The industrial revolution introduced new jobs, and with those jobs children were working in unsanitary and unsafe conditions. There were many factors during the industrial era that caused child labor to change. Today child labor has come along way from those dark times during the industrial revolution.

WC 578