Shocking images show the last of America’s child workers toiling in factories and cotton fields before the 1938 ban
Kids as young as seven would brave dangerous conditions for over ten hours a day
HEARTBREAKING pictures from the 1930s show young boys and girls operating machinery in cotton mills and glass works, while other children can be seen toiling in the fields.
Some of the boys, who would be as young as seven, were so small they had to climb up on the spinning frame to mend the broken threads and put back the empty bobbins.
These children were known as "doffers", and would have to work at a fast pace as they were at risk of falling into the moving machinary.
Most of the children would be aged between ten and 15 and often would work ten-hour days for little or no pay.
Other shocking shots show young cigar makers smoking during breaks at work.
The illuminating images were taken by Lewis W. Hine between 1908 and 1921 after he became the photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC).
At the time, the immorality of child labour was meant to be hidden from the public. Photography was not only prohibited but also posed a serious threat to the industry.
He used his camera as a tool for social reform and his photographs aided the NCLC’s lobbying efforts to end the practice of child labour.
Hine's work for the NCLC was often dangerous. As a photographer, he was frequently threatened with violence or even death by factory police and foremen.
To gain entry to the mills, mines and factories, Hine was forced to assume many guises. At times, he was a fire inspector, postcard vendor, bible salesman, or even an industrial photographer making a record of factory machinery.
Child labour didn’t end in America until 1938 when the Fair Labor Standards Act came into law.
The U.S. Congress passed two earlier laws, in 1918 and 1922, but the Supreme Court declared both unconstitutional.
In 1924, Congress proposed a constitutional amendment prohibiting child labour, but the states did not ratify it.
The Fair Labor Standards Act rules that for non-agricultural jobs, children under 14 may not be employed, children between 14 and 16 may be employed in allowed occupations during limited hours, and children between 16 and 18 may be employed for unlimited hours in non-hazardous occupations.
Several exceptions to these rules exist, such as for employment by parents, newspaper delivery, and child actors. The regulations for agricultural employment are generally less strict.
Last year we shared an incredible collection of sepia photos encapsulate what working life was like for people in Victorian Britain.
We also shared images of child labourers in the 1900s smoking and fighting while they’re forced to earn their keep.