Child Labor and Reform Movements

By Eman M. Elshaikh

Industrial capitalism created great wealth for some, and low-paying,

unpleasant jobs for many more. Child labor was a social problem driven
by this new economy.

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Child Labor and Reform Movements
Eman M. Elshaikh

In the early twentieth century, a young American scholar

left his teaching position and decided to devote hist time
to taking pictures. However, they were not just any
pictures. Lewis Hine sneaked into factories and other
workplaces to photograph child workers. He often ended
up being thrown out or chased away by policemen.

But Hine persisted. He wanted to show the world the

injustice of a system that put kids in horrible working
conditions. He joined a group of reformers in the
National Child Labor Committee. It was a group trying to
improve the lives of working children. Photography and
photojournalism were relatively new. However, Hine’s
striking photos played an important role in bringing
public attention to the growing problem of child labor.

Production and distribution, a reboot

Work changed a lot during Industrial Revolution. The
“long nineteenth century” (1750–1914) saw a rise of
industrialization and wage labor, especially in Western
Europe and North America. Under industrial capitalism,
the systems of production changed and expanded. The
result was fewer family-run farms and shops. More and
more, they were replaced by large factories and wage
labor. This shift had big consequences for how people A photograph taken in 1910 by Lewis Hine. It shows Addie Card, a
earned a living. twelve-year-old spinner from Vermont, who said she started
working during a school vacation and ended up staying in the
Many parents went to work at low-wage jobs. Children,
factories. By Library of Congress, public domain.
who otherwise would have helped out at home,
increasingly took on semi-skilled labor, but they were
paid about one-tenth what adults earned. They could
handle simple tasks and were usually obedient workers,
so they were in demand. Typically, their work was
repetitive and unhealthy.

The need for reform

This system of cheap labor and large-scale production
was growing rapidly in many industries. It made
products available at a much lower cost. It also
generated a great deal of wealth. The people who got
wealthy, though, were factory owners and investors, not
laborers. Still, for many working people wage labor was
the only way to make a living and survive.

An advertisement calls for boys and girls to work at Bates Mill in

Lewiston, Maine. Portland Press Herald, 1861, public domain.

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Eman M. Elshaikh

By the beginning of the twentieth century, dissatisfaction

among workers had grown. Workers were joined by
socially conscious individuals such as Lewis Hine in
fighting for reforms. This movement was most notable
in the United States and Western Europe. There,
important reforms created standards for labor. These
eventually led to work-free weekends, eight-hour work
days, and a minimum wage. In most other parts of the
world, industrial capitalism raged on. Children provided
much of its workforce.

The moral objection to child labor

Child labor raised important moral questions. Hine’s
photographs powerfully captured the lives and suffering
of children. At the time, ideas about childhood and Photograph taken in 1908 by Lewis Hine showing boys working in
children were shifting. Education, creativity, and a glass factory in Indiana. The image was taken at midnight,
playfulness were viewed as increasingly important. suggesting that children often worked long hours. Public domain.
But even parents who agreed with these views did
not always have the choice to keep their children out
of the workforce. Many families relied on child labor
for financial survival. The poorest children were often
forced to work.

Here is an interview from 1832 between a government

official and a young English man named Matthew
Crabtree. In the interview, Crabtree describes his
experiences as a child laborer:

What age are you? — 22

Have you ever been employed in a factory? — Yes

At what age did you first go to work in one? — 8

How long did you continue in that occupation? —

Four years

Will you state the hours of labor at the period when

you first went to the factory, in ordinary times? —
From 6 in the morning to 8 at night

Fourteen hours? — Yes

With what intervals for refreshment and rest? — An

Cartoons about the perils of child labor by Frederick Thompson
hour at noon
Richards (top) and Thomas May (bottom). Public domain.
Were you always in time? — No

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Eman M. Elshaikh

What was the consequence if you had been too late? — I was most commonly beaten.

Severely? — Very severely, I thought

When you got home at night after this labour, did you feel much fatigued? — Very much so.

Had you any time to be with your parents, and to receive instruction from them? — No

Child labor had begun to conflict with emerging moral

ideas. Increasingly, critics called for change toward the
end of the nineteenth century. Louis-René Villermé was
a French doctor. He reported on the poor health of
children working in textile factories.

“All pale, nervous, slow in their movements, quiet at

their games, they present an outward appearance of
misery, of suffering, of dejection…”

Such criticisms led to new laws in Europe and the United

States. They did not end child labor but put limits on it.
In parts of Europe, new restrictions made it costlier to
employ children. Such changes led to declines in the child
work force. However, countries such as Italy, Russia,
and the United States lagged behind. Their governments
waited much longer to regulate child labor.

In the United States, unions managed to get regulations

at the state level. Organizations such as the National
Child Labor Committee (NCLC) launched public
campaigns. They used posters and exhibitions to show
the social injustice of child labor. The photographs of
Lewis Hine proved to be powerful evidence.

Economic reasons to end child labor

Economic factors also contributed to changing
policies. The most effective reforms were those that
increased the cost of child labor. In addition, adult
workers were competing for work with children. These
adults often lobbied against child labor to protect their
jobs. At the same time, machines started to replace
many child laborers.

Soon, these moral and economic forces combined to

reduce child labor. New regulations made child labor too A poster released by the National Child Labor Committee, founded
costly. Some employers stopped hiring kids simply to in 1904. By JD Thomas, CC BY-SA 2.0.
make greater profits. But child labor was still a cost-
effective option for industries willing to ignore the law.

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Child Labor and Reform Movements
Eman M. Elshaikh

Education before employment

You might wonder why kids were working instead of
attending school. The idea that kids should go to school
in the first place was pretty new. In wealthy families,
kids often received private instruction.

In Western countries, government-funded education

expanded during the long nineteenth century. More
countries began requiring younger children to attend.
Even after reforms, though, school didn’t immediately
replace child labor. Instead, children often worked
as well as attending school, especially in rural and
working-class families.

An uneven movement
Child labor declined in the industrialized West in the
first part of the 1900s. However, it stayed the same and
even increased in agricultural or colonial societies. For
example, the informal nature of child labor in India made
it difficult to regulate. Indentured service continued
in colonized areas in Asia. In parts of Latin America,
working children, especially orphans, were sent to
families in need of extra labor. These systems even
continued after slavery was abolished.

There are many children who remain trapped in systems

of forced labor. These abusive systems continue to
this day in some parts of the world. A report in 2017
revealed about 152 million children are still working.

However, child labor is far less common than it once

was. Around the world, education and literacy rates A child labor standards poster from the 1940s encouraging
among children are rising. Protections for children are schooling and reinforcing the rules of the Fair Labor Standards
more regularly created and enforced, creating a safer, Act. Note that child labor was still permitted when children
healthier childhood for many. worked for their parents. Public domain.

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Eman M. Elshaikh

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Eman M. Elshaikh
The author of this article is Eman M. Elshaikh. She is a writer, researcher, and teacher who has taught K-12 and
undergraduates in the United States and in the Middle East. She teaches writing at the University of Chicago, where she also
completed her master’s in social sciences and is currently pursuing her PhD. She was previously a World History Fellow at
Khan Academy, where she worked closely with the College Board to develop curriculum for AP World History.

Image credits
Cover: Child Textile Workers Holding Protest Signs During Strike © Bettmann / Getty Images
A photograph taken in 1910 by Lewis Hine. It shows Addie Card, a twelve-year-old spinner from Vermont, who said she started
working during a school vacation and ended up staying in the factories. By Library of Congress, public domain.
Photograph taken in 1908 by Lewis Hine showing boys working in a glass factory in Indiana. The image was taken at midnight,
suggesting that children often worked long hours. By Library of Congress, public domain.
An advertisement calls for boys and girls to work at Bates Mill in Lewiston, Maine. Published in the Portland Press Herald,
1861 Public Domain.
Cartoons about the perils of child labor by Frederick Thompson Richards (top) and Thomas May (bottom). Image from the
Philadelphia North American and later published in Cartoons Magazine, volume 3, no. 4 (April 1913). By Virginia Commonwealth
University Libraries, public domain.
A poster released by the National Child Labor Committee, founded in 1904. By JD Thomas, CC BY-SA 2.0.
A child labor standards poster from the 1940s encouraging schooling and reinforcing the rules of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Note that child labor was still permitted when children worked for their parents. Public domain.