This historical source is a photograph of a 14-year-old newsie taken by sociologist and muckraker photographer Lewis Wickes Hine in February 1910. Hine produced over a hundred photographs documenting child labor in the United States which was instrumental to the eventual passage of the first child labor laws. This example is titled, “Donato Dandrea, 231 W. Genesee St. Said he was 14 years old, but if so is undersized. Does not go to school. Sells all day and in the evening, on cars, at corner on Main St., (See Nos. 1215, and 1214.) Location: Buffalo, New York (State).”

The main focus of this photograph is very clearly, child labor. Child labor was a major asset of the United States’ economy from its inception but the specifics of it changed during the early 20th century. ((

Natasha M. Howard, and Ian C. Rivera. “Child Labor in America.” Children’s Issues, Laws and

Programs Series. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc, 2010.

)) Prior to the industrialization that occurred throughout the 1800s, agriculture was the main industry and children worked at home performing farm labor. However, this changed in the 20^th century when more opportunities for children to work outside of the home were created. In rural areas young boys worked in mines, in urban areas they earned livings as newspaper carriers or couriers, and young children everywhere continued to have employment opportunities within the home by providing labor. ((Michael Schuman. “History of Child Labor in the United States- Part 1: Little Children Working.” Monthly Labor Review, 2017, 1-19.))

Today, child labor is something that people actively work to put an end to. Federal laws are in place and are enforced in the United States now but in the years of the early 1900s, legislation was done at a state level since child labor was so normalized people thought that national change was not feasible. ((

Natasha M. Howard, and Ian C. Rivera. “Child Labor in America.” Children’s Issues, Laws and

Programs Series. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc, 2010.

)) In fact, in 1916 Congress passed the Keating-Owen Act of 1916 which forbade the shipment across state lines of goods made in factories that employed children under 14 years old, or children aged between 14 and 16 who worked more than 8 hours a day, overnight, or more than six days a week. This was the first federal law that regulated child labor, but its success was short lived. In 1918, the Supreme Court heard the case of Hammer v. Dagenhart and declared that since Congress did not have the constitutional authority to regulate the production of goods, the Keating-Owen Act was unconstitutional. ((“Hammer v. Dagenhart.” Oyez. https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/247us251.)) This confirmed that the federal government would not be able to successfully protect the children, so some states made the effort to. However, even the states that had this protective legislation saw extensive child labor as a result of the inconsistent enforcement. ((Felix Adler. “Child Labor in the United States and Its Great Attendant Evils.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1905, 3-15)) This photograph is a powerful example of the pervasiveness of child labor because it was taken at a time when child labor was starting to receive federal attention and it was taken in New York which had child labor laws in place, but the sight of a small child working was still commonplace.

The job being shown in this picture is that of a newspaper carrier, also known as a newsie. Newsies were considered the most visible street trade and the face of child labor for the majority of urban America. ((Michael Schuman. “History of Child Labor in the United States- Part 1: Little Children Working.” Monthly Labor Review, 2017, 1-19.)) These children would buy papers from the publisher and sell them on street corners. This led to fierce competition for the best locations as well as the creation and use of some unsavory technics to ensure sales would be made. On big news days, flashing the headlines helped ensure paper sales but on other days newsies were known to lie about breaking news or play on the emotions of the pedestrians in order to make a profit from their sales. ((Michael Schuman. “History of Child Labor in the United States- Part 1: Little Children Working.” Monthly Labor Review, 2017, 1-19.)) This shows the desperation these young children developed from the responsibility that was put on their shoulders. The decision to photograph this job over all of the other examples of child labor reflects that the photographer perceived it as the pinnacle of child labor and the best example of the worst aspects of it.

Historical sources such as this can give historians and modern-day individuals an insight into what society was like during different time periods. It can give an example and understanding that is impossible to grasp from simply looking at it in a textbook. The photographer’s title in itself gives the viewer an insight into the situation being documented. Firstly, the inclusion of the young boy’s name was a powerful decision made by the photographer. By sharing this boy’s name, the photographer humanized him and his experience for the people that would view this photo. He is not a nameless example of child labor; he is a young boy named Donato Dandrea and this is a documentation of his experience. Additionally, Hine states that the newspaper boy does not go to school in order to sell newspapers all day on train cars. The inclusion of this fact shows viewers the pervasiveness of child labor and the reality of what was prioritized in the lives of young children. Also found in the title is a description of Donato Dandrea. Hine states, “Said he was 14 years old, but if so is undersized.” ((Hine, Lewis Wickes, photographer. “Donato Dandrea, 231 W. Genesee St. Said he was 14 years old, but if so is undersized. Does not go to school. Sells all day and in the evening, on cars, at corner on Main St. (See Nos., 1215 and 1214.) Location: Buffalo, New York (State).” 1910. Photograph.)) The inclusion of his age allows the viewer to see how stunted Dandrea’s development is by the labor he does daily and the conditions he may live in. By the time the photograph was taken in 1910, people were beginning to understand and discuss the negative impact labor has on the development of children. ((Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, and Francis H. McLean. “Child Labor in the United States- Discussion.” Publications of the American Economic Association 8, no. 1 (1907): 260-267.)) By making the decision to take a picture of a clearly undersized boy and include his age in the title, Hine brought extra attention to these harmful effects.

In addition to the information this source provides in the title, the decisions of the photographer when taking this photo also convey the harsh realities of child labor. In the young boy’s arm he is holding nearly 30 newspapers. The inclusion of these newspapers tells the viewer a lot about the situation being documented. First, this demonstrates just how long of a day Donato Dandrea works. For the majority of newsies, the workday does not end until all of their papers are sold since that is the only way to turn a profit. The amount that he has left allows the reader to gain an understanding of how long of a day Dandrea is going to have and how hard he will have to work. The inclusion of the train in the background also expresses this. This photo was taken while Dandrea was on the job, so he did not have time to step away and put his newspapers down for a photo and this helps convey the harsh reality of the work he does day after day. These newspapers also demonstrate that the focus of this photo is the labor this child is doing rather than just documenting children in general. Hine had a goal to document the reality of child labor, so he made sure to include the key aspects of Dandrea’s job to provide an accurate documentation of a day in this child laborer’s life.