Child Labor
Child labor has been an issue in many countries for many years. Even though countries such as America has banned child labor, other poorer countries still struggle with child labor law. According to International Labor Organization child labor is defined as, “Children or adolescent participating in work that affects their health and personal development or interfere with their school” (International). Child labor can also be defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. Child labor can be considered whenever a work is mentally, physically, socially, or morally dangerous and harmful to a child. If a child work interferes
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America for example used children in factories because they were small and could move in small spaces in factories or mines where adult could not fit. They were also easier to manage and control and they could be paid less than adults. It was not until the market crashed when the public changed their mind about child labor. In the late 1700’s and early 1800’s when factories in countries such as England and America expanded and started to use machine rather than hand labor child labor became a major issue. As stated in a History of Child Labor by Milton Fried, children were put to work for twelve to eighteen years a day six days a week to earn a dollar. As stated by Milton, “ In 1810, about two million School age children were working up to 50 to 70 hours a week” …show more content…
The bad financial issue that country face today contribute greatly to the growth in child labor. With the bad economy that the country is facing today, parents are left to send their children to work places. According to research done by Hassaan Bin Nasir post graduate at Medical Center, “Due to unemployment it has become compulsion of parents to make their children to work in factories, shops, even selling items on streets” (Nasir). Here, in America, child labor still exist, it may not be as popular as it is in the developed world, and however, it is still happening. These children mostly work in tobacco farm. They are exposed to nicotine, toxic pesticide to name a few. According to Humans Rights Watch, these tobacco workers usually work 50-60 hours a week. They have reported serious symptoms such as vomiting, skin rashes etc...(Human Rights Watch,
Child labor was a big issue involved with the Industrial Revolution. Families in the lower classes had jobs working the machines in factories. Usually, each worker got payed about $4-5 a week. Document 1 is a conversation that took place and it was kind of like a job interview and William Cooper, the worker, described how harsh life was in the factories. He began to work in factories when he was about ten years old and he worked from 5 am to 9pm.
During this time period it was not just adults that were working. In order to support their families, children were sent to work as well. The new places of work such as mines, factories, or garment shops were wanting workers that could reach into small spaces and could do small tedious jobs , there is where the children come in.
One of the tolls industrialization took was that children were being forced to work.
If you instill that in your children and grandchildren at an early age, you can continue to have the family farm. Forms of child labor, including indentured servitude and child slavery, have existed throughout American history. As industrialization moved workers from farms and home workshops into urban areas and factory work, children were often preferred, because factory owners viewed them as more manageable, cheaper, and less likely to strike. Children had always worked, especially in farming. But factory work was hard.
Stated in The Factory Act of 1833, they say, “ The factory act of 1833 was a major accomplishment for the proper rights of child workers. With this act, children who worked in factories would now be given more safe regulations. Some of the new laws that would focus on the youth in the factories were no child workers under the age of nine, children are not to work at night, two hours schooling each day…” (Weebly). In other words, Factory Acts allowed rights to child workers and it limited their work hours.
The children were employed in factories, demanding long hours of work. This made their living and food conditions very
This political cartoon represents How corrupt child labor was in The Progressive Era. On the left there is two men, who are enjoying them self, by being pushed in a cart by children. On the right there is three children ,who have to push this big cart, with two men on it. There is also an old lady who is helping the children push this cart. The old lady represents, that child labor companies push children into work from a young age till the day they die.
During the Progressive time, the main goal was to expand the government to a social setting instead of a political environment. African Americans were considered inferior to the white culture. Child labor was seen in all factories, they would work in the cruelest conditions for little to no pay. During this time, it was Congress’ decision whether or not child labor was legal or not. In present day, African American have a lot more freedom than written in history.
“Child labor and poverty are inevitably bound together and if you continue to use the labor of children as the treatment for the social disease of poverty, you will have both poverty and child labor to the end of time” (Grace Abbott). The issue of child labor has been around for centuries. Its standing in our world has been irrevocably stained in our history and unfortunately, our present. Many great minds have assessed this horrific issue and its effect on our homes, societies, and ultimately, our world.
They also employed them because they were small and could go under and fix the machines easily. As children were expected to work at a young age in the Industrial Revolution time, they employed loads of children so than they didn’t have to do as much work and they could get more done at once. The jobs they done caused injuries frequently such as crushed fingers, broken arms, and even legs been pulled off. The factory owners did not force the workers to work they had a choice, either be homeless, or get underpaid and mistreated. The children had to fix broken machines and fix the broken threads, when they were still going.
As the rate of industrialization in America grew during the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries, child labor became more and more common. The rapid growth of the economy and the vast amounts of poor immigrants during the Industrial Age in America justified the work of children as young as the age of three. By 1900, over two million children were employed. However, the risks of involving child labor greatly outweighed the positives; child labor was inhumane, cruel, and caused physical deformities among children. Children typically worked in coal mines, mills, and factories which contained many life-threatening hazards.
Child labor during the 18th and 19th century did not only rapidly develop an industrial revolution, but it also created a situation of difficulty and abuse by depriving children of edjucation, good physical health, and the proper emotional wellness and stability. In the late 1700 's and early 1800 's, power-driven machines replaced hand labor for making most manufactured items. Many of America 's factories needed a numerous amount of workers for a cheap salary. Because of this, the amount of child laborers have been growing rapidly over the early 1800s.
Child labor was a great problem in the Industrial Revolution. Factory owners usually hired women and children rather than men. They said that men expected higher wages, and they suspected that they were more likely to rebel against the company. Women and children were forced to work from six in the morning to seven at night, and this was when they were not so busy. They were forced to arrive on time and they couldn’t fall behind with their work because if they did they were whipped and punished.
In many countries, employing children or teens, keeps them out of trouble and teaches them to keep a strong work ethic. An obvious reason of child employment would be poverty. In countries where the sole breadwinner only brings home a dollar a day, it 's helpful to have multiple income sources. To expand on that point, Nadira Faulmuller of Oxford University, mentioned in her article that, “The main cause for children doing work is poverty – ‘their survival and that of their families depend on it’.
There are many reasons that cause child labor: Poverty and unemployment levels are high – As you see, the most of employed children work in less developed countries by economy. In such countries poor families and children may rely upon child labor in order to improve their chances of attaining basic necessities. According to U.N statistics more than one-fourth of the people around the world live in poverty that is caused by the high unemployment levels. Free education is limited – U.N estimated that approximately 75 million children were not attending school. The education for the whole world’s children costs 10-30 Billion dollars that is 0.7% - 2% of the annual cost of global military spending.