Curb on Child Labor Filling Schoolhouses
After the Civil War, industry began to boom, and with an increase in industry, there was a need for an increase in workers. This meant children as young as 10 could be working in retail stores, industries, or even farms. However, originally, child labor was not viewed as abuse but as a way to teach children life skills. Some organizations, such as the Charles Loring Brace Children’s Aid Society, also known as CAS, was established in 1854 and provided support to children who were orphans. Specifically, it aimed to bring children out of poverty by creating a lodging house for boys where they would learn life skills by paying for necessities and become part of America’s independent class by working to make money. The U.S. held the belief that children were not only helping to support the economy but also themselves by not staying idle.[1] Yet, working conditions were not safe, or even close to satisfactory. For instance, children who worked in mines often suffered mutilations of their hands or fingers due to accidents with machines.[2] As the Progressive Era began, there was a widespread increase in focus on stopping the use of child labor. After the introduction of a child labor bill in 1906 by Senator Albert J. Beveridge, the issue gained national attention, causing a controversial debate between those who believed in child labor and those who did not. President Roosevelt, in response, gave the states the right to decide their own child labor laws, while requesting that the Bureau of Labor complete a study on the conditions of working children and women. Efforts to end child labor continued to be unsuccessful for years to come; however, multiple small breakthroughs, such as the passing of the Keating-Owen bill into law in 1916, which focused on protecting children working mainly in mills, factories, or other interstate commerce businesses. While the law was later struck down by the Supreme Court in 1918, it and other efforts made by reformers allowed for children to benefit from the end of child labor.[3] A piece published by The Christian Science Monitor in 1928 explains some of the positive effects of child labor reforms, such as an increase in children attending schools, representing the positive changes occurring during the Progressive Era. It explains that around eighty percent of children between the ages of five and seventeen have enrolled in school since children now have the time to focus on academics. As more people focus on their academics, there will be an increase in the number of students who attend not only high school but also college. It was noted that sixty five percent of graduates proceeded to go into commercial pursuits and business rather than low paying jobs such as working in public service.[4] Despite such improvements within childhood academic development, there were still those who believed that children benefited from a life of labor. Thomas Robinson Dawley Jr., a reporter for the Bureau of Labor, set out to uncover the “truth” behind the matter. He believed that children working in the labor force had a better life than those, for instance, living in the South. He claimed those in South lacked insight into hygiene, and often didn’t have access to schools due to its rural terrain. Occasionally, mills would offer schooling, and Dawley believed children had better diets and hygiene while working in a mill town. The overall mindset was that while working conditions were not good, they were better than the conditions others had to endure.[5] The article uses formal informational language to display statistical percentages to show how children have already benefited from the few reforms made, and shows the necessity for these labor law changes. The author conveys the message in a tone that is factual yet positive, allowing him to successfully explain why people should support such constructive changes. The author is aiming to write to adults to encourage them to enroll their children in school, to let children know that there are more options than physical labor, and to reformers to see the hopeful outcome of children working towards education rather than industry.
[1] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review, History of Child Labor in the United States-part 1: little children working, https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2017/article/history-of-child-labor-in-the-united-states-part-1.htm , accessed November 10, 2025.
[2] David Emory Shi, America A Narrative History (W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2022) 695.
[3] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review, History of Child Labor in the United States-part 2: the reform movement, https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2017/article/history-of-child-labor-in-the-united-states-part-2-the-reform-movement.htm , accessed November 10, 2025
[4] The Christian Science Monitor, Curb on Child Labor Filling Schoolhouses: More than 80 P.C. in Group Between 5 and 17 Years are now Enrolled Decrease in Child Labor Filling up Nation’s Schools, https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/curb-on-child-labor-filling-schoolhouses/docview/512440856/se-2?accountid=13793 , accessed November 10, 2025.
[5] Daniel J.B. Mitchell, “A Furor over Working Children and The Bureau of Labor,” JSTOR 1975, https://www.jstor.org/stable/41839486?seq=1