Need for the National Child Labor Committee
Prior to the formation of the NCLC, many labor unions advocated for child labor regulation.
The Preamble and Declaration of Principles of the Knights of Labor of America states that they strove to be:
"A party that believes...the child must be educated and fitted for the position he is to occupy in the future. This can only be done by prohibiting children from going into our workshops and mills before attaining their fourteenth year" [1885] |
In an article for McClure's Magazine, Samuel Gompers writes:
"What do [unions] aim to do? To improve the standard of life, to uproot ignorance and foster education, to instill character, manhood and independent spirit among our people...We aim to establish a normal work-day, to take the children from the factory and workshop and give them the opportunity of the school and the play-ground" [1912] |
However, no union was able to successfully implement change, due to their failure to bring attention to the issue. Official statements of the unions generally included their goal to abolish child labor, but their actions were limited and ineffective, which is evident through their lack of involvement and support in movements against child labor.
Young Mill Workers Rebel
Lowell, Massachusetts (1836)
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"However, in 1836, conditions worsened when the factory owners raised the cost of living at the boardinghouse with no increase in wages. The room and board hike amounted to a twelve and a half percent reduction in the girls' pay" When the mill owners refused to negotiate, the girls planned a strike.
"I worked in a lower room, where I heard the proposed strike fully...Naturally I took sides with the strikers" |
"Eleven-year-old Harriet Hanson and nearly two thousand other mill girls turned out during the 1836 Lowell strike--nearly one third of the workforce. The Factory Girls' Association coordinated strike activities, electing leaders and creating communities to raise funds for girls who couldn't afford room and board while they were on strike...by the end of the month, the strikers ran out of money...Without support, the strike failed" |
Messenger Strikes
New York City (1899)
Many messenger boys were dissatisfied with their work shifts, fees for uniforms, and telegram delivery payments.
One told a New York Sun reporter:
"Mind yer, they take fifty cents a week out for uniforms, and before yer wear one out, yer've paid for it half a dozen times over. But d'yer own it then? Not on your life. They take it away, gives yer one that some large boy's has grown out of, and keep right on taking yer fifty cents a week" [1899] |
On July 22, a group of boys from the American District Messenger office sent a letter announcing their strike to the New York Sun. The newspaper printed the letter just as the boys wrote it:
"Gentlemen: We wish to inform you that the A.D.T. Stock Exchange boys of 314 Exchange court are going out on strick Monday. The cause of there stricking is they are charged by the company 50c a week the hole year round for the same uniform and 10c a week for collars which they say they ought to have for free. They also want to receive more money and in full pay TOO, nothing taking out if it for collars & uniforms as they are not worth it. They say the company does not do the right thing by them. A company representative denied that any strike would take place:
"It's all foolishness. There isn't any reason for the boys to strike. [In case of a strike] we have one thousand boys in reserve" [1899] |
"But the boys did strike. When the strikers saw reserve messengers, or 'scabs', they chased them down the street. The captured scabs suffered beatings, which often convinced them to join the strike" -Susan Campbell Bartoletti [1999]
"All in all, the messengers' strike was short lived...The messengers had failed to organize and rally under effective leadership" -Susan Campbell Bartoletti [1999] |
"During the short strike[s], [they child workers] had little support. In Sunday sermons, ministers preached that [they] should return to work and be grateful for their jobs. Newspapers also criticized the strikers" -Susan Campbell Bartoletti [1999]
The Lowell Mill Girls' Strike, the Messenger Boys' Strike, and many others were unsuccessful primarily because of a lack of support and leadership from existing unions. Furthermore, since the NCLC had not yet been formed, citizens were unaware of the realities of child labor.
Thesis:
The leadership of the National Child Labor Committee piloted the social reform movement against the exploitation of children. By harnessing the power of propaganda to influence public opinion, the NCLC changed society’s perception, thus allowing for the passage of national legislation prohibiting the labor of children. The legacy of the NCLC lies not only in ending child labor, but also in establishing a precedent for future federal regulation of labor. |
Niharika Boinpally and Divya Pakianathan
Senior Group Website Word Count (Student Composed): 1166 Process Paper Word Count: 484 |