Today's Biggest Social Evil: Child Labor

There have been many social evils throughout history. Child labor is one of these many evils. What is child labor? Child labor is the employment of underage children in a potentially hazardous environment. What makes child labor so controversial is its history. Since its roots in England and North America, child labor has been an issue for three centuries. Due to the harsh working conditions and long hours, many provisions have been made to regulate child labor in New York State.

The ghastly working conditions for child laborers began as early as the sixteenth century in Great Britain. Child labor originally involved manual work, but when the Industrial Revolution emerged in the eighteenth century, children began working on machines. Consequently, there was an increased demand for child labor. For this reason, the conditions present in factories and mills became more objectionable. The text dictates that "half-naked children as young as six" labored for incredibly long hours in the "damp and dark." Moreover, an average child could be expected to work for 16 hours on a given day with only meager victuals to consume. Any insubordination or an escape attempt would yield a thrash with a whip. Other examples of harsh working conditions include children working in "fiery furnaces" for glass companies or young boys commandeering coal chutes where debris and coal dust is ubiquitous. Clearly these jobs are not only strenuous, but also hazardous. Why did these malefactions occur for so many years? Children were taught to believe that hard work improved one's moral character. In addition, children were taught that idle hands are the tools of the devil. For the better part of three centuries, child labor proliferated throughout the world.

However, many government officials began to recognize the need for reform. Early efforts were made to assuage the situation, but none with significance. In England, Parliament established a commission to examine the problems of working children. It wasn't until 1912 that the U.S. followed suit by creating a Children's Bureau. Under President Wilson, the first major move towards the end of child labor, the Keating-Owen Act, was declared unconstitutional. Later, the text provides that the New Deal under Franklin Delano Roosevelt ultimately eradicated child labor. In 1938, the passing of the Wages and Hours Act prohibited employers from hiring persons less than eighteen years of age in hazardous occupations. It also allowed minors between fourteen and sixteen years of age to work only a limited amount of hours after school. After three centuries of callous conditions for child workers, child labor was finally prohibited.

Today, in New York State, there are many new provisions in place. The chart provides many stipulations and regulations for minors in the workplace. For instance, farm labor is regulated for children during the school year. According to the chart, farm work can be done for longer periods of time during the summer and shorter periods of time during the winter. Other stipulations are school vacations. When school is not in session, children can work for more hours. Moreover, during the school year, parents and education authorities must give written permission for children to work until midnight. In addition, certain restrictions are placed on jobs such as farm work, street trades, and newspaper carriers during the school year. The chart was based on the New York Labor of 1993 and a decade later, the same rules still apply. Clearly, there has been a major since in child labor since the days of six-year-olds working in factories.

Child labor has had a detrimental effect on the lives of children for three centuries. The grueling work hours and the horrible conditions not only led to disease, but in some cases, death. Unfortunately, it took another two hundred years for government officials to put an end to this transgression. After the New Deal era in the 1930's, child labor has finally been regulated to create safer, less objectionable conditions. However, there are still some migrant child workers who face harsh conditions even after legislation. Nonetheless, the current New York State Law provides a very rigid guideline for the regulation of child labor. Finally it seems as if the young coal carriers, factory workers, or glassmakers of yesteryear are another piece of history that will never be repeated.