What do you think of Child Labor?
By: Grace Mayer
In the early 1800’s something cruel swept our nation, Child Labor. Child labor has been around for a long time; however, it has never hit our country very badly. Children are still being employed in stuffy, overcrowded factories and mills. The owners of the factories and mills do not even pay the children a fair wage. Most of the families send them away to pay off debt for their house or just to keep the child occupied and out of sight. Families even made their children drop out of school just to go work. Many children who worked in the factories had poor education and did not even know how to read or write. Families did not even care about the condition of their child; they only cared about the money that they would send home. Clearly, this was not the right choice. Some people did have the right mind and tried to put a stop to it. There have been many advocates for better working conditions in the factories and mills. One of the most famous supporters is Sarah Bagley. She worked as a child in the mills of Lowell and wanted to help herself and everyone else who felt the same. Sarah just recently created and is the current president of Lowell Female Labor Reform Association, which called for improved working conditions and a shorter workday. Making kids drop out of school is robbing them of their education. Children who are forced to work have no time for an enjoyable childhood. They never had time to play outside or rest because they had to work every day for very long hours. When parents could no longer support their children, they sometimes put them into the hands of a mill or factory owner. In some factories children had to be able to read and write in English. They had to write in English because there were so many immigrants coming to work in the factories. I think that this is essential to make sure that children had some education, even if it is just a slight bit of information. However, that did not stop people from treating each other badly. Is America going to let this burden continue to stick around, or are we going to fight together for something better for our country?