The following quote shows how the United States Government recognized child labor in the late 1900’s, “There is work that profits children, and there is work that brings profit only to employers. The object of employing children is not to train them, but to get high profits from their work.” (Hines, 1908) The belief is the Industrial Revolution attributes to the manipulation of child labor. This period in history altered the way people especially children existed and worked. During this period of time over two million children worked. The children worked to help support their families. Children started to work as early as five years of age. During this era children were normally uneducated unless they came from families of wealth. The children were exposed to deplorable, unsafe and unhealthy conditions. A normal work week would consist of approximately 70 hours and the wages earned would amount to pennies. Many of the children who were employed in factories and in the mines developed a variety of serious health conditions, such as bronchitis and tuberculosis. Those children working in mines developed serious back problems that led to paralysis. A huge number of children died as a result of working in horrible conditions. (McCarthy, 2004)
In 1904 a group called the reformers or The National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), established a movement to protest child labor conditions. These reformers agenda was to change the welfare of the child and put an end to child labor. Lewis Hine the spokesman for the NCLC, traveled to many states to get proof of the conditions that plagued many children who were working at that time. His proof brought about changes in many states limiting the age at which a child could work. At this point in time The Supreme Court ...