Child Labor Laws of Yesterday and Today

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Child labor was a very serious social and economic issue in the United States during the Industrial Revolution. The concept of working children was so widespread that it became readily accepted by society. Intense and dangerous labor became a way of life for millions of children living in America that time. The United States now has Child labor laws, enacted by the Federal Government and UN, which restricts when children can work and what jobs they can do (Youth & Labor). Many children in the United States between the late 19th century and early 20th century lived in abject poverty; mostly in tenement houses located in urban areas (Child Labor.). Children worked in horrible conditions such as: textile mills, coalmines, flourmills, machine shops, garment factories, tobacco factories, shoe factories, and carpet plants, in order to provide a source of income for their families. Lewis Hine, a New York City photographer, felt strongly about the abuse of children as workers and decided to investigative this for the National Child Labor Committee (Child Labor and Lewis Hine.). Hines used few words and extremely powerful images to educate the American public about the negative effects of child labor. Hine's images of working children stirred America's conscience and helped change the nation's labor laws. Federal reform of child labor wouldn’t be brought about until the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (Youth & Labor). In the present day, children in America are now protected from the inhumane labor which caused physical, psychological, intellectual, and even social damage. Today, the increase in social services and the standard of living virtually keeps children from having to work. Federal laws such as The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are designed to protect the youth and prohibit their employment in jobs that could be harmful to their health and safety (Youth &

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