1. Child Labor

2. What is Child Labor? 1. Child Labor is work that harms children or keeps them from attending school. 2. America had many children in the workforce during the early 1900s.

3. Who? 1. Children coming from poor families had to work in the factories to help support their families. 2. Many had no choice in the matter. It was meant for the survival of their family.

4. What Kind of Labor? 1. These children were doing a variety of jobs such as working around dangerous machines to working in coal mines. 2. Many children were put at extreme risk of injury and death. 3. Work days ran from sun rise to sun set with longer hours in the winter. 4. Children would work 68-72 hours a week!

5. Why Else Was This Bad? 1. Besides the obvious fact that children should not be in the workforce under bad conditions; children also missed out on education. 2. Without education, a child lacks the important gift that so many of us today take for granted. 3. Without education in a society it can easily crumble and become corrupt.

6. Some Background Information 1. Many people opposed child labor as early as the 1830s. 2. Some states banned children from working in industrial settings. 3. This however, did not stop the problem and many people ignored these laws and still employed children. 4. There were many failed attempts at making reforms to stop child labor. 5. It would not be until 1938 until the US Government would pass the “ Fair Labor Standards Act ” which helped regulate who could work, how many hours, etc. 6. It took over 100 years of opposition support to finally end child labor.

7. Fair Labor Standards Act 1. Passed in 1938, this act would: a. Create a 40 hour work week i. We still have this today b. Create a minimum wage of 40 cents i. The minimum wage today is $7.25 c. No one under 18 can work in hazardous conditions d. Children aged 14 and 15 could work under stricter conditions and in non-hazardous jobs OUTSIDE of school hours and in limited hours. Those who are at least 16 can have more flexible and longer hours.

8. Does Child Labor Exist Today? 1. Sadly, yes. 2. In the United States this is not so much the case anymore. 3. There are roughly 250 million children laborers today. 4. Most of these children are in developing countries where there is corruption, little education, poverty and crime.