Child+Work+Laws

** Causes of Child Labor ** : There are many aspects of society like economic depression that have led to using children as a primary work source. · ** Economic Depression ** - When a country is in depression, they are more likely to use child labor as a work source because it is cheaper to pay for children and they are easier to replace. Therefore, children were more likely to be hired than their parent so the children's income was valuable and important for the family's survival. · ** Lack of Schooling ** - Without an education, children aren't preparing themselves for a life ahead. Educated individuals have the opportunity to earn higher income which will help them support their family. If children work in a factory or coal mine, they are able to start providing for their family at a young age if their parent looses their job, which also ties into economic depression, but not earn more money in the future when they have a family of their own. · ** No Enforced Laws ** - The US was a relatively new country in the 1890's, therefore, there weren't any established laws against child labor. In other words, there was nothing stopping companies from hiring children as their work source for the company to be more profitable.  
 * World's Fair 1893: Child Work Laws **

** Why Child Labor should be abolished ** : Although child labor may have benefitted the industries, it had a negative effect on the children working. · ** Cruel Conditions ** - The children worked in harsh conditions that could harm their well-being and result in them becoming sick. · ** Dangerous Jobs ** - There were many jobs that were hazardous, such as coal mining, which could cause the children working to lose limbs or even be killed. · ** Forced Labor ** - Some children were taken out of orphanages to work meaning they had no adult to stand up for them and they were being forced to work. · ** Brutal Bosses ** - The employees who monitor the children working were not supportive at all. On a regular basis, the children underwent beatings and harsh punishment for things that may not have been their fault.

**Daily life**-
 * One small meal at home before work.
 * Off to the factory before daylight, often walking a mile or more.
 * Only one break for a 45 minute dinner.
 * Work until around 8 pm.
 * Punished for bad work by “whippings with a strap, slapping, ear pulling, and withholding of wages.”

**Important events-**

> The General Assembly passes a law fining those who employed children in "dance halls, saloons, houses of prostitution, and public exhibitions (the circus).
 * 1820- Phildelphia Census found that 40% of 1100 workers were under the age of 15.
 * 1834- Delegates from the National Trade Union met in New York. The called for federal and state legislature to ban child labor.
 * Late 840's-1850's- Some states restrict work time for children to 10 hours a day and 60 hours in week. Children under 16 could only work if they attended school 3 months per year. The law was poorly enforced.
 * During and after the Civil War (1861-1865), young teenagers made ammunition, as well as working in places of eating, drinking, and entertaining.
 * 1868- The General Assembly passes a law requiring children to work no longer than 8 hours per day.
 * 1870's- Coal mining was a leading industry in the United States.

Minor, Robert. “Child Labor.” Cartoon. //P.A.P. - Blog//. Ed. Filip Spagnoli. N.p., 15 May 2008. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. []. “The Evils of Child Labor.” //New York Times// 5 Jan. 1892: 2. Web. 7 Dec. 2009. []. Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. //Growing Up in Coal Country//. Illus. Geoffrey Ganter. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996. Print. "Child Labor and the Illinois Law." New York. Thomas Y. Crowell and Co. 1895. []