Contextualization: Child Labor
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT1750 / LESSON 4.5ACTIVITYCONTEXTUALIZATION: CHILD LABORUnless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “Contextualization: Child Labor,” OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/1PurposeUse the historical thinking practice of contextualization to understand how and why ideas about childhood began to change with industrialization (c. 1750 to1914 CE). By contextualizing this period, you’ll understand why these nineteenth-century changesto childhoodtook place, and how they prompted industrial societies to see child labor as problematic in a way previous societies had not.Process1.Read the passage below,and then review the images on the next three pages: Imagineyou’re8yearsoldandlivinginthenineteenthcentury.Butinsteadofgettingupandgettingreadytogotoschool,you’regettinguptogotowork. At 4:00 a.m.! If you were a boywho lived in coal-mining country, there was a good chance you were headed off to a coal mine, where you would put in 13 hours or more. Coal mines were extremely dangerous and unhealthy,with cramped passages, toxic coal dust, and explosive coal gas. If you were a boy or girl who lived in the city,youwereprobablyheadedofftoatextile(clothing)factory,which werealsoveryunhealthyanddangerousplaces.Now,thatmightsoundawful—andtobeclear,itwas—but before the second half of the nineteenth century, the concept of “childhood” didn’t really exist. Children were expected to contribute to the economic well-being of the family. For most of human history, that meant helping secure and produce food. After the Industrial Revolution, it also meant mine or factory work to earn a meager wage for your family, but a nice profit for the mine or factory owner.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 4.5ACTIVITYCONTEXTUALIZATION: CHILD LABOR2“BreakerBoys,”Pittston,PA,1911.PhotographbyLewisHine.ImagecourtesyofNationalArchivesatCollegePark,DepartmentofCommerceandLabor,Children’sBureau. Publicdomain.https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Group_of_breaker_boys._Smallest_is_Sam_Belloma._Pittston,_Pa._-_NARA_-_523383.jpg
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 4.5ACTIVITYCONTEXTUALIZATION: CHILD LABOR3“Pennsylvania Coal Breakers (Breaker Boys),”1912. Photograph by Lewis Hine. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pennsylvania_coal_breakers,_(Breaker_Boys),_1912.jpg
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 4.5ACTIVITYCONTEXTUALIZATION: CHILD LABOR4Childrenworkinginatextilemill,Macon,Georgia,1909.PhotographbyLewisHine.ImagecourtesyoftheUSLibraryofCongress. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mill_Children_in_Macon.jpg
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 4.5ACTIVITYCONTEXTUALIZATION: CHILD LABOR52.Now, fill out the Contextualization Tool using what you’ve learned from this lesson. Contextualization ToolWrite the historical event/development being studied.Write the date(s) and location(s) of the historical event being studied.Event Cards:Cut out the Events Cards,andthen place them on the funnel to show whether they represent narrow or broad context. Be prepared to explain your placement. You can also complete this portion of the activity by clicking the linkfor Google Slides. You’llneed to create a copy of the slides.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 4.5ACTIVITYCONTEXTUALIZATION: CHILD LABOR6Historical event/development:Broadcontext: Wide ranging or long termDoes the context represent wide-ranging themes, trends, events, eras, or regions related to the historical development?Does it represent a long-term (underlying) cause or contributing factor?Narrowcontext: Limited or short termDoes the context represent limited themes, trends, events, eras, or regions that are more closely tied in time/place to the historical development?Does it help us see the short-term (immediate) causes or contributing factors?
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 4.5ACTIVITYCONTEXTUALIZATION: CHILD LABOR73.Read the “Child Labor and Reform Movements” article.If you need to adjust your categorization of broad and narrow context after reading the article, then do that before you move on to the next step.4.Write one or two sentences that describe the broad context of this event.5.Write one ortwo sentences that describe the narrow context of this event.6.Analyze how the broad and narrow context help you better understand the historical event.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1750 / LESSON 4.5ACTIVITYCONTEXTUALIZATION: CHILD LABOR87.Use information from the Contextualization Tool and the article “Child Labor” to write a one paragraph response that answers thisprompt: What historical context related to the time period, location, and culturechanged people’s ideas about childhood and child labor in industrialized societies?