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Period: to
Ending Child Labor
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First State Child Labor Law
Massachusetts requires children under 15 working in factories to attend school at least 3 months in a year -
States begin limiting childrens work days
Massachusetts limits children’s work days to 10 hours; other states soon pass similar laws. These laws were not consistently enforced though. -
Escalating Problem
Child labor in the mid-1800s became a major problem. A child in a factory might work 12-18 hours a day, 6 times week only to earn one dollar. Children often became ill and sometimes died. -
New York wins state reform
Led by Samuel Gompers, the New York labor movement successfully sponsors legislation prohibiting cigar making in tenements in where thousands of young children work. -
Democrats adopt union reccomendations
Democratic Party adopts platform based on union recommendations to ban factory employment for children under 15 -
Peak of Child Labor
Number of child laborers peaked, there was a growing number of resistence but the state laws varied. -
National Child Labor Comittee
This organization was created to protect children in the working industry. -
Amendment not accepted
Congress tried to pass a constitutional amendment trying to prohibit child labor but the states did not accept it. -
Federal purchasing law passes
Walsh-Healey Act states U.S. government will not purchase goods made by underage children -
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
This act banned child labor in factories and mines but some racist southern politicians found a way to keep african american children working on farms. It created age restrictions.,
