History of Child Labor by Dietrich Williams

By Dietrich Williams

  • "During the Gilded Age, often times, wages were so low that men could not support their families. To get by, wives and children had to go to work as well" (cl,1).

    Child labor started because of men's insufficient to pay.

  • "In 1903, labor leader Mary Harris Jones - known as Mother Jones - went to Pennsylvania to support a strike by 75,000 textile workers" (cl,4).

    People protested against child labor so child labor could end.

  • "In 1904, a group of progressive reformers founded the National Child Labor committee, an organization whose goal was the abolition of child labor" (cl,4).

    Organizations were formed and were created to abolish child labor.

  • "The Keating Owen child labor act, the first child labor bill, was signed into law by president Woodrow" (gilderlehrman.org).

    Woodrow signed the first child labor bill to end child labor.

  • By 1916, Congress acted passed the passed the Keating - Owens Act that established the following child labor standards".

    Back then acts were passed. Not to end child labor but make it less harmful to kids.

  • A second child labor bill was passed in Decemeber of 1918 as part of the Revenue Act of 1919, also called labor Tax Law (cl,5)

    The Revenue act was passed to increase taxes for the rich and lower taxes for the poor so child labor could end,

  • "The steel strike of 1919 became the focal point for... U.S. Supreme Cort outlawed national childlabor laws, and abolished minimum wage laws for women" (gilderleherman.org).

    Supreme Cort outlawed child labor in multiple states, so child abuse would end.

  • Congress took it first steps toward nation wide child labor restriction, through the Supreme Court struck down the act on child labor.

    Congress and the Supreme Court passed acts to try to abolish child labor.

  • "The Fair Labor Standards Act prohibited child labor and established a minimum wage".

    They passed this act because children were working long and hard hours and getting low pay, so they passed this act so children can get fair pay.

  • The most sweeping federal law that restricts the employment and abuse of child workers is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

    The Fair LAbor Standards was passed to establishes minimum wage, overtime pay eligibility, recording, and child labor.