Internet Sources
- Child Labor Coalition. History of Child Labor in the US.The history, causes, and results of child labor in the United States are documented in photographs, articles, and testimony by young workers, with study guides and links to other sites.
- Digital Tradition Mirror. Babies in the Mill.Words and Music by Dorsey Dixon, 1962
- George Eastman House. Let Children Be Children: Lewis Wickes Hine’s Crusade Against Child Labor.54 selected images document child labor with captions provided by Lewis Hine, 1905-1915
- Harvard School of Public Health. Gallery: Stolen Dreams, Featuring photography by David Parker, MD, MPH.Occupational health physician David Parker studied the effect of work on the health of adolescent workers in Minnesota, and found that over 150 million children worldwide still work to meet their basic needs.
- The History Place. Child Labor in America 1908-1912. Photographs of Lewis W. Hine.Photos taken by Lewis Hine for the National Child Labor Committee show children at their daily occupations on farms, in mines, streets and factories. Images include the original captions.
- Kay Davis. Documenting “The Other Half”: The Social Reform Photography of Jacob Riis & Lewis Hine.An examination of social reform work done by Jacob Riis and Lewis Hine using photography to document and explore the effects of industrialization and urbanization of the American working class.
- Library of Congress. The Learning Page: Child Labor in AmericaChild labor is wide spread and often takes place under dangerous conditions. The social and economic changes brought on by 19th and 20th century industrialization and pervasive poverty closed people’s eyes to many of the effects on working children.
- Library of Congress. National Child Labor Committee Collection Photographs by Lewis Hine.As a photographer for the US National Child Labor Committee, Lewis Hine documented working and living conditions of children between 1908 and 1921 making their lives vivid in the minds of the public and decision makers.
- National Archives and Records Administration. Teaching with Documents Lesson Plan: Photographs of Lewis Hine: Documentation of Child Labor.Lewis Hine, a New York City schoolteacher and photographer felt that the reason people employed children was not to train them, but to make high profits from their labor.
- Spartacus Educational. Child Labour: 1750-1900.Includes images and text on supporters of child labor, as well as life in the factory and factory reformers.
- The Tides Center and Julia Dean and Associates. Images of Child Labor: Child Labor and the Global Village: Photography for Social Change.Defines terms and standards relating to child labor and includes images of child soldiers, street vendors, garbage scavengers, brick makers, and domestics.
- University of Iowa Labor Center and Center for Human Rights. Child Labor Public Education Project.Definitions of child labor, US historical experiences, laws, health concerns, international issues and workshop materials K-12 teacher’s materials are offered to raise awareness and understanding of the issues.
- University of North Carolina. Children at Work: Exposing Child Labor in the Cotton Mills.Educator’s Guide includes lesson plans for grades 7-12, oral history resources and recordings, and field trip recommendations.
- Virginia Historical Society. Child Labor in Virginia: Photographs by Lewis Hine.Photographs made by Lewis Hine for the National Child Labor Committee are exhibited together with text documenting the widespread labor of even very young children in dangerous conditions.
Commentary on Child Labor Photographs
Though many photographers documented life in the late 1800s and early 1900s, two of the most famous who recorded the living and working experiences of children were Jacob Riis and Lewis Hine. Both hoped to raise awareness of the complex problems entwined with child labor, and to prompt social and legislative action. Child labor photographs are bleak and sometimes upsetting evidence that children were harshly exploited, often replacing adults with nimble-fingered cheap labor.
Making the photographs was often difficult because of the physical and social settings. The workshops and homes were often dark and difficult to light for photography. In some sweatshops the camera had to be hidden so employers would not know their workers and working conditions were being documented. Sometimes children were posed by the photographer who might even have demonstrated desired expressions in order to ensure that the images captured the essence of their difficult lives. In some photos, people hard at work wear their best clothes and ribbons in their hair. Some smile as if sharing a joke, proud of their accomplishments, or pleased to be the subject of someone’s interest for what might be the only photograph taken during their entire lives.
Books
- Child labor in America : history, policy, and legislative issues byISBN: 1590338952
- How the other half lives; studies among the tenements of New York byISBN: 0486220125
- Kids at work: Lewis Hine and the crusade against child labor byISBN: 0395587034
- Lewis Hine: photographs of child labor in the new South byISBN: 0878052879
- Long time coming: a photographic portrait of America, 1935-1943 byISBN: 0393049434
- The world of child labor : an historical and regional survey byISBN: 0765617072
Handouts
Here are some handouts that you can modify for use in your classes.
Online descriptions of Kheel Center text collections pertaining to child labor
The following are links to descriptions of collections that contain many materials pertaining to child labor. More documents are present in a variety of collections, including the rare pamphlets collections. For more information please contact the Kheel Center reference staff.
Books on Primary Source Analysis
- Eyewitnessing : the uses of images as historical evidence byISBN: 080143968X
- Insights into American history: photographs as documents byISBN: 0130480444