In the early twentieth century, a young American scholar left his teaching position and decided to devote hist time to taking pictures. However, they were not just any pictures. Lewis Hine sneaked into factories and other workplaces to photograph child workers. He often ended up being thrown out or chased away by policemen.

But Hine persisted. He wanted to show the world the injustice of a system that put kids in horrible working conditions. He joined a group of reformers in the National Child Labor Committee. It was a group trying to improve the lives of working children. Photography and photojournalism were relatively new. However, Hine’s striking photos played an important role in bringing public attention to the growing problem of child labor.

Production and distribution, a reboot

Work changed a lot during Industrial Revolution. The “long nineteenth century” (1750–1914) saw a rise of industrialization and wage labor, especially in Western Europe and North America. Under industrial capitalism, the systems of production changed and expanded. The result was fewer family-run farms and shops. More and more, they were replaced by large factories and wage labor. This shift had big consequences for how people earned a living.

Many parents went to work at low-wage jobs. Children, who otherwise would have helped out at home, increasingly took on semi-skilled labor, but they were paid about one-tenth what adults earned. They could handle simple tasks and were usually obedient workers, so they were in demand. Typically, their work was repetitive and unhealthy.

The need for reform

This system of cheap labor and large-scale production was growing rapidly in many industries. It made products available at a much lower cost. It also generated a great deal of wealth. The people who got wealthy, though, were factory owners and investors, not laborers. Still, for many working people wage labor was the only way to make a living and survive.  

By the beginning of the twentieth century, dissatisfaction among workers had grown. Workers were joined by socially conscious individuals such as Lewis Hine in fighting for reforms. This movement was most notable in the United States and Western Europe. There, important reforms created standards for labor. These eventually led to work-free weekends, eight-hour work days, and a minimum wage. In most other parts of the world, industrial capitalism raged on. Children provided much of its workforce.

The moral objection to child labor

Child labor raised important moral questions. Hine’s photographs powerfully captured the lives and suffering of children. At the time, ideas about childhood and children were shifting. Education, creativity, and playfulness were viewed as increasingly important. But even parents who agreed with these views did not always have the choice to keep their children out of the workforce. Many families relied on child labor for financial survival. The poorest children were often forced to work.

Here is an interview from 1832 between a government official and a young English man named Matthew Crabtree. In the interview, Crabtree describes his experiences as a child laborer:

What age are you? — 22

…

Have you ever been employed in a factory? — Yes

At what age did you first go to work in one? — 8

How long did you continue in that occupation? — Four years

Will you state the hours of labor at the period when you first went to the factory, in ordinary times? — From 6 in the morning to 8 at night

Fourteen hours? — Yes

With what intervals for refreshment and rest? — An hour at noon

Were you always in time? — No

What was the consequence if you had been too late? — I was most commonly beaten.

Severely? — Very severely, I thought

When you got home at night after this labour, did you feel much fatigued? — Very much so

Had you any time to be with your parents, and to receive instruction from them? — No

…

Child labor had begun to conflict with emerging moral ideas. Increasingly, critics called for change toward the end of the nineteenth century. Louis-René Villermé was a French doctor. He reported on the poor health of children working in textile factories.

“All pale, nervous, slow in their movements, quiet at their games, they present an outward appearance of misery, of suffering, of dejection ...”

Such criticisms led to new laws in Europe and the United States. They did not end child labor but put limits on it. In parts of Europe, new restrictions made it costlier to employ children. Such changes led to declines in the child work force. However, countries such as Italy, Russia, and the United States lagged behind. Their governments waited much longer to regulate child labor.

In the United States, unions managed to get regulations at the state level. Organizations such as the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) launched public campaigns. They used posters and exhibitions to show the social injustice of child labor. The photographs of Lewis Hine proved to be powerful evidence.

Economic reasons to end child labor

Economic factors also contributed to changing policies. The most effective reforms were those that increased the cost of child labor. In addition, adult workers were competing for work with children. These adults often lobbied against child labor to protect their jobs. At the same time, machines started to replace many child laborers.

Soon, these moral and economic forces combined to reduce child labor. New regulations made child labor too costly. Some employers stopped hiring kids simply to make greater profits. But child labor was still a cost-effective option for industries willing to ignore the law.  

Education before employment

You might wonder why kids were working instead of attending school. The idea that kids should go to school in the first place was pretty new. In wealthy families, kids often received private instruction.

In Western countries, government-funded education expanded during the long nineteenth century. More countries began requiring younger children to attend. Even after reforms, though, school didn’t immediately replace child labor. Instead, children often worked as well as attending school, especially in rural and working-class families.

An uneven movement

Child labor declined in the industrialized West in the first part of the 1900s. However, it stayed the same and even increased in agricultural or colonial societies. For example, the informal nature of child labor in India made it difficult to regulate. Indentured service continued in colonized areas in Asia. In parts of Latin America, working children, especially orphans, were sent to families in need of extra labor. These systems even continued after slavery was abolished.

There are many children who remain trapped in systems of forced labor. These abusive systems continue to this day in some parts of the world. A report in 2017 revealed about 152 million children are still working.

However, child labor is far less common than it once was. Around the world, education and literacy rates among children are rising. Protections for children are more regularly created and enforced, creating a safer, healthier childhood for many.