Children were treated poorly in the 19th Century. They had no voice; had low wages and the conditions of factories were poor. A child was easily at harm during any hour of the day at work. To change this, Children’s Right Movement was started. It took place in the 19th century to the early 20th century. Lewis Hine, Mother Jones and Jacob Riis were a few people that supported it. The Children’s Right Movement was successful because it showed society the harshness of children working and not having an education.
Children had no voice which made factory owners take advantage of them. Many families knew it was wrong to send their kids to work, but felt they had no choice since they needed the money. Children worked all day long and when they finally went home they were too worked out to eve go play for a while. Children were robbed of their childhood. Children didn’t have a say in what they wanted for themselves do whatever opportunity came their way they had to accept it. Children also didn’t always get paid what they were suppose to. Since they were children factory owners cheated them and didn’t always pay them the amount they deserved.
To solve all these problems the Children’s Right Movement was stated. This was to show society ho children were treated in factories and to get the government to change their minds about allowing children under age to work in factories. They took big steps to achieve what they wanted to. They went as far as having strikes. Factory owners needed the workers so they had to go along with what the children were asking for. The factory owners didn’t agree with it totally but what had to be done was done. Children went back to work and the Children’s Rights Movement supporters kept on working towards what they wanted to succeed in favor of the children.
The government didn’t always listen to Children’s Rights Movement activist, Mother Jones. In 1903 Jones organized children working in mills and mines in the “Children’s Crusade”, a march from Kensington, Pennsylvania to Oyster Bay, New York, the home of President Theodore Roosevelt with banners demanding children wanting time to play and wanting to go to school. Though the President refused to meet with the marchers, the incident brought the issue of child labor to the public eye. This issue was later resolved in a very formal way.
Since the Children’s Rights Movement took place, children have been treated fairly and even better, children are now able to go out and play and not have to work. Children also have the opportunity to go to school and get an education, but the main thing is…A kid gets to have a childhood full of joy.