“Starve Fighting, Not Working”

In our time, we as adolescents don’t work at all or we work as babysitters of dog-walkers where our hours are flexible and our pay is decent and well deserved. We’re not forced to do physically taxing jobs for long hours and little pay just to support a family or basic survival. Why do you think this is? Children as young as six years old worked in factories operating large, constructive machinery and equipment where they were at extreme risk of getting into an accident. In fact, many children did get into accidents. Children were taken advantage of, such as business owners raising the price of the cost of 100 newspapers. Some people even wanted their own children to continue working in dangerous conditions, the Hammer vs. Dagenhart case being an example of that. Child labor took place from the 1870’s to 1938. Major figures during this time period were Mother Jones, Jacob Riis, Lewis Hine, President Hoover, President Woodrow Wilson, and possibly, many more important people. An act titled as the Fair Labor Standards Act set standards for the working industry, and in fact, was very successful.

       Obviously, controlling and take advantage of children for powerful and dominant industrial owners was relatively easy. Especially during the time of the Depression, 75% of the American population was suffering in poverty, so any amount of money was desirable and sought after. An injustice was the newsies having to pay 10 cents extra for 100 newspapers that they will sell for 1 cent each. Now into the 2000’s, it’s hard to imagine that it is such a challenge just to pay 10 cents extra for 100 newspapers. It was such a challenge that the newsies went on strike and stopped working until their bosses meet the newsies’ standards. Also in an act of rebellion, newsies set fire and burned newspapers. Even though the newsies rebellion was successful, injustices did not cease to continue.

       The Fair Labor Standards Act came about when the opinion of the general public changed its perspective on child labor. The people finally realized that education was much more significant than working, as well did Congress. I think this decision took longer than needed. The “American Dream” is to become a well-educated and successful person, and laboring children contradicts this. Also, the Supreme Court felt that it was the state’s position to regulate the policies of factories, not Congress’s. When this was decided, Lewis Hine already spent six years photographing and interviewing child laborers. Even with images and interviews of young children struggling to support their families and even struggling to prevent getting fingers and limbs cut off, it took 14 year from 1924 (the date that Lewis Hine returned with the photographs and interviews) to 1938 (when the opinion on child labor changed and the Fair Labor Standards Act was activated) for public perspective to switch and for Congress to agree with this perspective.

       The Fair Labor Standards Act did, however, set a minimum age for most jobs America had to offer. No child can be hired for any full time job except on farms, only if he or she is under the age of 14 years old. The act also applies to adolescents, who must go to school until they turn 16. At the age of 18 is when he or she is allowed to work in factories or mines. A minimum wage was also another standard established through the Fair Labor Standards Act. Of course, factory owners were furious and strongly opposed the at, but the Supreme Court agreed to ban child labor this time, over-ruling the factory owners.

       In conclusion, the reason why the children of today do not have to work at all or do not have dangerous jobs is because tens of thousand of children the generation before us fought in marches, joined strikes, and lost body parts in order for present day children and adolescents to have rights through labor. Child labor and the Great Depression are both topics worth and important to study because we shouldn’t be ignorant toward the past that we should be grateful for. Many employees throughout the United States complain about their jobs today because of long hours and not enough pay with no lunch breaks, such as employees at Wal-Mart. I feel as though Americans continue to get greedier and less grateful for what they have as time progresses. Now knowing that children as young as 6 were involved in major accidents and worked in unhealthy and physically harming conditions shocks me, but it also teaches me that education truly is much more important than getting a job at my age, and the education that I am receiving now will guide me in life.