Children’s Rights Movement
During the late nineteenth century there were problem with children. This was because of child labor. The children were being treated unfairly. This was one of the biggest movements ever. The children were being paid low wages and didn’t go to school. Some important people in that took part in it were Mother Jones, Jacob Riis, Louis Hine, and President Taft. This movement was very successful because it made people realize the harsh conditions children were in. Once people realized the harsh reality of this they put an end to this.
The life of children during this time was a very harsh life to live. There were different types of problems they faced. Some were economic, political, and social. One economic problem was the children worked sixty hours over six days a week. Also they worked in factories with many dangerous machines. One social problem was that the poor children often did not attend school. Some children were even too small to work on streets or in factories. One political problem was that the children that were working were too young to even work for the government. They weren’t even able to vote.
The children tried to protest but this didn’t work too well. So they got some help from Mother Jones and Jacob Riis. Jacob Riis took pictures of the kids to show how dirty they were and what harsh conditions they were in. Some ways that they tried to resist this was by going on strike. One major strike was called the
Massachusetts mill strike. The strikers were beaten. The strike lasted for months. After all the beating and striking president Taft forced the owners to raise salaries and pay overtime. Mother Jones also led the Children’s Crusade from Philadelphia to
New York.
Finally after a long wait of no justice they finally got what they wanted. After the long wait congress realized that the children meant business. So congress passed the Fair Labor Standard act. This prohibited most employment of minors in poor working conditions, Such as children working in mills for little pay. It also guaranteed overtime for certain jobs.
This movement has made me happy and grateful for the rights that I have today. This is because children back then were being taken advantage of. And because of those children back then I won’t have to go through child labor. I won’t be taken advantage of like them.
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