- Working all Day, and Waiting for Change -

Introduction

Introduction

During the 1800s in America, the nation was going through great changes. In the northern states, the economy was changing from one of farming to one of manufacturing.  It was called the Industrial Revolution.  Mines, factories, and mills began to open all over the United States.  These companies needed workers to operate the machines that made the products people needed.  This work was called “unskilled labor” because the people who worked in these jobs did not need any special training or skills to be able to do them.  Because of this fact, owners of the factories could find people who would do these tough jobs in the factories for low wages.  Usually, they hired immigrants or the very poor to work in these jobs.  Eventually, the owners found that children could work some machines better than adults because of their small size and nimble fingers.

At this time in history in the United States, it was normal and acceptable for children to work on farms to help their families survive. This same attitude was used as people began to move from the country farms to the industrial cities. 

Children also did not have the same protections under the law and the Constitution of United States as adults.  This made it easier to exploit children for the factory’s benefit.  It was decided that it was actually “unconstitutional” to deny this “right to work” to children.  Children were also easier to control and to scare into not making any trouble.

The issue was that children were being exploited.  Children were missing their chance of being educated properly and would be destined to work at labor intensive jobs for the rest of their lives.  In the 1890’s, nearly 20% of the U.S. work force was small children working full-time jobs.