Topic 2: Child Labor--Directions

Objective

To analyze the conditions surrounding child labor during the Progressive Era and the reform efforts that were made to address the abuse of child laborers. 

Slide 4:  The Problem with Child Labor

To begin, you will read the article titled Child Labor in America, 1908-1912: The Photographs of Lewis W. Hine.   After reading the article, examine the pictures of child laborers working in various industries.  The article and pictures will help identify the problems associated with child labor during the Progressive Era.  After you have completed the reading and examined the pictures, you will create your first slide which detail the problems that existed regarding working children.

1.  In what type of jobs did children find themselves working?

2.  What factors led to the exploitation of children as laborers?

3.  The article mentions that child labor laws often did not pertain to immigrant children.  What evidence from the photographs support this claim?

4.  What possibilities for danger do you see in the photographs?. 

5.  Having examined the photographs, what do the images make you feel?  If you could speak to one of the children in the photographs, what would you ask him or her?

Slides 5-6: Important People and Government Action

In slides 2-3, you will discuss the actions taken by important individuals and the government to rid child labor from America.  To do so, you should focus on the following:

Lewis Hine (Who was he?  What did he do?  What effect did his work have on ending child labor?)

Fair Labor Standards Act 1938 (What did this law say?)

State and Local Government Efforts (What actions were taken by state and local governments to abolish child labor?)