Work is required to earn the money to provide the necessities of life, but this duty should never be given to children. In her speech, Florence Kelley uses logos, pathos, and a shift to voting rights to build her argument of why child labor laws need to be enforced nationwide. The first way the author builds her argument is through logos, a logical appeal. Kelley utilizes an assailment of facts and statistics to lead her assertion. This is effective because of the shockingly large number of children working absurd and miserable hours.
The children may work enough to provide for their families, however they have minimal time to be a child. This proves that the government, in personified form, is a giver of the law, who creates laws that can be interpreted as a success at the expense of the children who live this reality. As a result, the government signed a law that “required women and [children] to stop work at six,” which was a significantly improved version of the inhumane work schedules (lines 41-42). The same government that placed sensible limits on the egregious system which oppressed children, made a mistake. The government “took a long backward step” when it repealed the law that brought relief to oppressed children (line 40).
Finding the fact that children from the age of “twelve to twenty years” are subject to labor heartbreaking. Florence Kelley’s speech, given at the National American Woman Suffrage Association, uses a variety of rhetorical strategies to turn the hearts of the audience against child labor, along with strengthening the argument for women’s suffrage. She does this to ultimately to argue that when women can vote, they will put a stop to child labor. While other rhetorical strategies, such as logos and ethos, serve mainly to impress the audience’s reason.
Before reforms were passed, some children worked upwards of 12 hours a day, and safety was the least of a business owners’ cares. Luckily, the Factory Act and other similar reforms reduced
In her speech addressing the National American Woman Suffrage Association on the topic of child labor, Florence Kelley bases her argument, through the use of logos, cacophony, and rhetorical questions on the ethical merit against child labor. Establishing her main arguments, and introducing the topic at hand, Kelley provides statistical evidence by which she conveys the pandemic of child labor. By stating that, “We have, in this country, two million children who are earning their bread,” she establishes the idea that child labor is widespread throughout the union and further notes the idea by describing the alarming trend of low wage-earning children growing as a demographic. She also notes it is especially common for girls between the ages
Sadler’s intent was “… an effort to persuade the British Parliament to enact new laws to safeguard the rights of child workers.” , (Enotes) by proposing a limit on the number of working hours in a day to
Document 1 describes the working conditions of British factories. In this excerpt, a testimony is given by a 28-year-old worker who began working in the mills at the age of 10. During that time he would work 16 hours straight with only one 40-minute break for lunch at noon. This left no time for school and resulted in the man being able to read but not write. And at times the children were even whipped to keep them awake.
They limited the hours of work for children, of certain ages, children from 9 – 13 were only allowed to work 8 hours a day, those who were 14 – 18 could only work 12 hours a day, and the children under 9 were not allowed to work at all. The government made sure of that the act was carried out. After a while in the 20 century the government went further to protect the children’s rights, the labour unions did not want children to work in the factories anymore due to danger being involved. In 1850 the government made the hours increase the women and children worked to 10 and a half hours a day, but not allowed to work before 6am or after 6pm. Plus in 1874 the government made the another labour rule for all women, children, and men that no worker was allowed to work more than 56.5 hours per week.
A Case for the Protection of Human Rights A little girl walks into the mill, wondering how long her day might be, she wondered what the day will take from her, a finger, a toe, maybe her hair, the mill has already taken so much from her, she wonders how much more. Men, women, and children all over the world, work hour after hour to just barely get by, yet they have no chance to fix this problem. Due to the many problems that the country faces with the violation of human rights, it is important to protect the rights that help keep every human happy, safe, and healthy. Child labor laws is one commonly disregarded human right that puts the lives of children at risk.
As Adams noticed, in order to gain enough income to support their families, children at a young age were often forced to work full day as adults under terrible working conditions, operating unguarded machines. Although former acts banning or restricting child labor had been passed, they were usually not enforced or simply ignored until 7 years later, when Keating-Owen Child Labor Bill was passed. The act banned any products from companies that employed children under the age of 14. Although this first child labor bill was short-living, it did alert the people and drew attention to the national issue of child labor. The demand of women’s suffrage caused yet another major movement during the era.
An example of this blatant disregard for consequences in advocation for industrial advancements is the mass exploitation of child workers during the Industrial Revolution. During this period, in advocation for industrialization and economic growth, many children were employed and forced to work up to sixteen hours a day in poor work conditions and were never given a proper education. In document one, in an interview with the Sadler committee in 1832, one of the victims of this child exploitation who had to work in a mill would state, “[I began working in the mills] when I was ten years of age… we began at five in the morning and stopped at nine at night…we were frequently strapped.” (A form of punishment by whipping.) In addition, when asked about his education, the worker would state, “We had no time to go to day school, I can read, but cannot write.”
Many parents needed their wages to make ends meet. In Document C from The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets by Jane Adams 1909, Jane states how children enter factory life when the law allows them to, and children end up not having childhoods. She writes that people are so caught up with the marvelous achievements of their industry and end up forgetting the children who have to work to help out as well. In Document G, a court case Hammer v. Dagenhart 1918, the father of two sons one under fourteen years old and another one between fourteen and sixteen explains his concern about the exploitation of his children in a cotton mill. He says its concerning that children are allowed to work more than eight hours a day and six days a week.
The Industrial Revolution created factories for businesses to grow and produce consumer goods. The factories hired many child workers and had them work in dangerous working conditions. Many people, usually inspectors and reporters, had noticed the troubled and hazardous state that many small children were working in. They’ve contributed to the recognition of the dangerous working conditions to the Parliament. This later resulted in the Parliament granting factory workers, the Factory Acts, and the School Sites Acts.
Personally I think that many of us are ill informed concerning our biblical responsibilities towards things like the celebration of Halloween it's become a boiling cauldron of controversy among Christians tell me do you have a well thought out response to this other than its just a little harmless fun? Because to be quite honest with you I've grown increasingly tired of having to deal with this struggle I don't want to be made out to be a killjoy and I certainly would never want to deny kids the fun I don't mind a little candy either! You're thinking but we did it when we were kids
Child labor was a great concern in the Industrial revolution but very few people did something to stop it. Women and Children were forced to work more than 10 hours a day with only forty minutes to have lunch. Elizabeth Bentley once said that they didn’t have any time to have breakfast or drink anything during the day. They worked standing up and if they didn’t do their work on time they were strapped (whipped). Children were treating like they were not important, like they didn’t deserve a better life.
