Thanks to The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938, the majority of child labor is banned in the United States. But for the prime decades of the Industrial Revolution, children toiled away in factories, mines, and fields as the forces of unchecked industry powered forward.
One muckraker photographer named Lewis Hine traveled around the country taking photographs of child laborers and their abhorrent working conditions, and his photos were instrumental in FLSA's passage.
The majority of the photos in this gallery were taken by Hine.
1
Child laborers working in glass and bottle factories, 1908.
2
Harley Bruce, a young coupling-boy at tipple of Indian Mountain Mine, December 1910.
3
Jennie Camillo, 8 years old, Cranberry picker in Pemberton, New Jersey. 1910.
4
Two young newsboys from Newark, New Jersey. 1912.
5
10-year-old worker at a textile mill in Lincolnton, North Carolina. November 1908.
6
“Four year-old Mary, who shucks two pots of oysters a day at Dunbar. The boss said that next year Mary will work steady as the rest of them. The mother is the fastest shucker in the place. Earns $1.50 a day. Works part of the time with her sick baby in her arms.” Dunbar, Louisiana. 1911.
7
John Clem was the youngest ever noncommissioned officer in the United States Army. He was promoted to sergeant and became a national celebrity for his actions with a musket trimmed to his size at Chickamauga in 1863.
8
14-year-old girl named Matty Lott working 6 sides of spinning machine in cotton mill in West, Texas, 1913.
9
Young girl working as a child laborer in a textile mill in South Carolina. Circa 1908.
10
Nine-year-old child laborer at a cannery in Eastport Maine.
11
Two young workers taking a break in Italy in the 1940s.
12
12 year old child worker, Birmingham, Alabama, 1910.
13
Eight-year-old boy harvesting beets. Colorado, 1915.
14
Oyster shuckers, Port Royal SC early 1900s.
15
This is a photo of Rosie Dorothy Berdych who was a 7-year-old oyster shucker who worked all day for the Varn & Platt Canning Co. in Bluffton, South Carolina. 1913.
16
Child working at midnight in glass factory, c 1900.
17
Child glass workers in West Virginia taking a quick lunch break, c.1900s.
18
Cotton Mill Worker, North Carolina. 1908.
19
A young mine worker in West Virginia, 1908.
20
“One of America’s youngest newsboys. Four years old and regular seller.” Tampa, Florida, 1913.
21
Child labour in Pennsylvania coal mine, by Lewis Wickes January 1911.
22
A child worker is happy to get his picture taken after a long day of work in NYC in 1924. A long day back then might have been up to 12 hours.
