In the early twentieth century, a young American scholar left his teaching position to devote his time to taking pictures. They were not just any pictures, however. Lewis Hine sneaked into factories and mines where young children worked and photographed them. He often ended up being thrown out or chased away by policemen.

But Hine persisted. He wanted to show the world the social injustice of a system that put kids in horrible industrial working conditions. He worked with a group of reformers in the National Child Labor Committee. Founded in 1904, the organization spread awareness of the problem of child labor. Photography and photojournalism were still relatively new. However, Hine’s striking photos played an important role in bringing public attention to a growing problem.

Production and distribution, a reboot

Work changed a lot during the Industrial Revolution. The “long nineteenth century” (1750-1914) saw a rise of industrialization and wage labor everywhere, especially in Western Europe and North America. Under industrial capitalism, the systems of production and distribution changed and expanded. That meant family-run farms and shop were increasingly being replaced by large factories and wage labor. This shift had important consequences for how people earned a living. Industry required more and more workers to sustain production. This need for labor pulled in many child workers.

Many parents in need of a steady income went to work at low-wage jobs. Children, who otherwise would have helped out at home, increasingly took on semi-skilled labor, but 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 much lower costs and generated a great deal of wealth. The people who got wealthy, though, were business owners, not the laborers doing the work. Still, for many people wage labor was the only way to make a living and survive.  

By the beginning of the twentieth century, there was enough dissatisfaction among workers—and socially conscious individuals such as Lewis Hine—to bring about some reforms. This movement was most notable in the United States and Western Europe. There, important liberal reforms created standards for labor. They eventually led to work-free weekends, eight-hour work days, and a minimum wage. However, in most other parts of the world, industrial capitalism—and the child labor it encouraged—raged on.

The moral objection to child labor

Child labor had important moral dimensions, something Hine’s photographs capture powerfully. People’s ideas about childhood and children were changing. Education, creativity, and playfulness had become more valued, especially among the middle and upper classes in the West. But even parents who accepted 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 into apprenticeships or forced labor.

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

More and more, child labor conflicted with emerging moral ideas. Increasingly, critics called for change toward the end of the nineteenth century. One French doctor, Louis-René Villermé, emphasized 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 ...”

These criticisms led to new laws in Europe and the United States. They regulated but did not completely end child labor. In parts of Europe, new restrictions made it costlier to employ children, and such changes led to some declines in the child work force. Countries such as Italy, Russia, and the United States, though, lagged behind. 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 against child labor. They used posters, photographs, exhibitions, and other media to show the social injustice of child labor.

Economic reasons to end child labor

As important as the moral arguments were, economic factors also brought change. The most effective reforms were those that raised the cost of child labor. Also, adult workers competed for jobs that children were doing for much lower wages, and they often lobbied against child labor to protect their jobs. At the same time, machines started to replace many child laborers. Governments also grew concerned about long-term health issues. For example, the toll on children’s health made them poor soldiers later on.

Moral and economic forces combined when 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 belonged in school in the first place was pretty new. In wealthy families, kids often received private instruction.

In Western countries, government-funded schooling expanded throughout the long nineteenth century. More countries began requiring students to attend through a certain age. But the law was hard to enforce, especially if families relied on income from their children’s work.

Even after reforms, school didn’t immediately replace child labor. Instead, children often worked as well as attending school, particularly in rural and working-class families.

An uneven movement

While child labor declined in the industrialized West, it stayed the same or even increased in agricultural or colonial societies. Child labor remained an economic necessity for many families. In India, child workers—as well as adults—often worked informally, which made it difficult to regulate. Indentured service continued in colonized parts of Asia. In Latin America, many children remained trapped in systems of exploitation and slavery. These abusive systems continue to this day. A report in 2017 revealed about 152 million children are still working.

Activists continue to confront this bleak reality. However, child labor is far less common than it once was. Around the world, education and literacy rates among children are rising, and protections for children are more regularly created and enforced. They are creating safer, healthier childhoods for many.