Child Labor in the Early 20th Century

9th Grade Social Studies, EGGMs. Gerloski

Child Labor Webquest Website

Tinyurl.com/gapsa

The Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution - History Channel

The Industrial Revolution - History Channel 2

Industrial Revolution in the U.S.

19th Century, followed Industrial Revolution in Europe

New technological innovations Higher productivity/production, higher

agricultural output New auto industry, steel and oil industry

Expansion of railroad system Better transportation, goods and people are

more easily moved from place to place

New Jobs in the Industrial Revolution

Mill workers

Factory workers New automobile industry Textiles Assembly lines more

common

Mine workers

Newsboys/Newsies

Large Farm workers

Industrial Revolution

It fostered the growth of big industries in the U.S.

The country became more urbanized, as most factories were in cities A lot of factories and mills were in the northern U.S. The southern U.S. was still more agrarian

1800: 0 cities with populations >100,000

1900: 18 cities with populations >100,000

Rural/Urban % Populations 1800: 93.9/ 6.1 1900: 39.6 / 60.4

Consequences of Industrialization

Greater movement from the country to the city

Goods were cheaper to produce and sell

Workers didn’t need to be skilled More women and children in the work force Also provided jobs for immigrants to the U.S. They could work long hours doing monotonous

tasks

Background Day 2

Victorian Work Song

Child Labor Basics

Children worked in jobs all over the United States, in rural and urban settings

Older children were more often employed than younger ones, but children of all ages worked

What kind of work did children do?

In factories and mills

As newsboys– sold newspapers on the streets

On farms and in agriculture – picking fruit and other crops

As bootblacks polishing shoes and peddlers selling goods on the streets

In mines, underground and as breaker boys

Why would firms employ children?

It’s all about ECONOMICS and choices

Human Resources: Children were cheaper to employ If you pay your workers fewer wages, you make

more money/profit

They were easier to manage than adults (the alternative)

Smaller size was more appealing for certain jobs

They didn’t unionize (at first)

Why would children choose to work?

Again, it’s all about economics and choices

Most often, to help their families make money

But also to make their own money Some kids wanted to

feel independent

Consequences of Children in the Labor

Force By 1900, nearly 20% of workers in the U.S.

were under the age of 16.

Children were forced to give up an education to make money for their families

Children competed with adults in the workforce

More families in poverty, even though children brought in an income as well

Child Labor

bad wages & no education

Deterior-ating labor standards

Adult unem-ployment

Family poverty

Decline in Child Labor

The Fight to End Child Labor

Labor Unions fought for an end to child labor

Though many people in the early 20th agreed child labor was wrong, laws were not passed or followed…

… Until the Great Depression when adults didn’t want any more competition for jobs

Child Labor Laws

1916: Keating-Owen Bill– first child labor bill But was shot down by the Supreme Court

1941: Fair Labor Standards Act upheld Prohibited the employment of minors in “oppressive child

labor”