Could you picture a six year old kid selling newspapers in the street today? If you can’t, that’s because children protested so they can go to school and have fun like we do everyday. The Children’s Rights Movement took place during the late 1800’s until The Great Depression occurred. People like Mother Jones, helped children fight for their rights. In the late 1800’s, children worked in dangerous places like mines and mills to help raise money for their families. Kids worked for about 60 hours a week when they should be in school. This movement was successful, because they had a lot of protests and boycotts.
Kids worked in very poor conditions and were paid less than adults. They didn’t have health benefits either. If a child got hurt in a mill or a factory, the owners would replace them. Children lost fingers and burned their scalps. Many kids worked when they should be in school as well. They wanted to do something about this so; they had many boycotts and protests. Children couldn’t vote, so they couldn’t change the laws.
Kids wanted to go to school and have fun, so they started to protest and go on strikes. Mother Jones saw the kids fighting for their rights and decided to help. She led a march from Philadelphia to
New York called the Children’s Crusade. She wanted to see President Theodore Roosevelt, but he refused. Jacob Riis took pictures of children and the factories they worked in. He showed how poor the conditions in the factories were. Soon, Congress started to pass laws to help protect children. In 1886,
New York passed the Factory Act which stopped children under 13 from working. This act also started factory inspections. In 1911, the Keating-Owens Act was passed. This act made it illegal for people to buy goods from kids 14 or under. It also shortened working hours for children.
The Lawrence Strike in 1912 got a lot of people’s attention. Thanks to this strike, children received better wages and a shorter working week. After the Great Depression, many people realized how hard it was to be poor and to lose your job. They thought it was wrong to have children work, so in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed. This act stated that no child could work full time if they are 14 or under. It also stated that kids had to go to school until they were 16 and they must be 18 to work in mills or mines. Minimum wage was created and Child Labor was banned.
I am grateful that I don’t have to work and I could go to school and have fun, like I do today. Things could have been different if nobody paid attention to the children who protested. The Children’s rights movement changed our country and helped protect children’s rights today.
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