A group of child laborers at the cotton mills ready to begin their grueling work.
Title
A group of child laborers at the cotton mills ready to begin their grueling work.
Subject
Child labor during the late 1800's and early 1900's.
Description
This photograph, taken by Lewis Hines, depicts a group of child workers at a cotton mill in North Carolina in 1912. It is from The Treasures of the Library of Congress. In a grander sense, this photograph represents child labor as commonality during the Industrial Revolution.
The Industrial Revolution took place in the late 19th century-early 20th century. I chose this photograph because I think it creates a representative picture of how many children during this time lived in poverty, and in effect had to work full time to contribute to their families. According to the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, from 1880 to 1920 the number of foreign-born people increased from almost seven million to a little fewer than 14 million. I think there is a correlation between the second and third generation immigrants to the United States and child labor found in impoverished families in the early 20th century.
Attracted by the rapid industrial growth that promised jobs and possibly a better life, immigrant families and individuals came to the United States with hopes of the “American Dream.” However, many jobs during the Industrial Revolution required long hours and offered little pay. All members of the family, including children, were forced to work just to scrape by.
On the contrary, the transformation of America also produced an upper class made up of affluent entrepreneurs and a growing middle class. These Americans found themselves enjoying the new luxuries industrialization made possible. The issue of child labor was brought to light by all mediums. “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair is an example of a text that exposed the horrors of child labor and painted a clear picture of the life of child immigrants.
In the photograph of the child workers, their physical appearances give some hint to the lives they led. Their feet are bear, their clothes ratty, and their expressions desolate. In “The Jungle,” Sinclair describes two of the young children, Vilimas and Nikalojus, who venture off into a new known city to sell newspapers all day and all night, coming home with only “twenty or thirty sense apiece-possibly as much as forty cents” (Sinclair 83). This is only the first of many examples in “The Jungle” that describe the lives of the children in the photograph.
Works Cited
"Eastern Illinois University Homepage." Childhood Lost. Eastern Illinois University, n.d. Web. 28 May 2013.
Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle. Cambridge, MA: R. Bentley, 1971. Print.
The Industrial Revolution took place in the late 19th century-early 20th century. I chose this photograph because I think it creates a representative picture of how many children during this time lived in poverty, and in effect had to work full time to contribute to their families. According to the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, from 1880 to 1920 the number of foreign-born people increased from almost seven million to a little fewer than 14 million. I think there is a correlation between the second and third generation immigrants to the United States and child labor found in impoverished families in the early 20th century.
Attracted by the rapid industrial growth that promised jobs and possibly a better life, immigrant families and individuals came to the United States with hopes of the “American Dream.” However, many jobs during the Industrial Revolution required long hours and offered little pay. All members of the family, including children, were forced to work just to scrape by.
On the contrary, the transformation of America also produced an upper class made up of affluent entrepreneurs and a growing middle class. These Americans found themselves enjoying the new luxuries industrialization made possible. The issue of child labor was brought to light by all mediums. “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair is an example of a text that exposed the horrors of child labor and painted a clear picture of the life of child immigrants.
In the photograph of the child workers, their physical appearances give some hint to the lives they led. Their feet are bear, their clothes ratty, and their expressions desolate. In “The Jungle,” Sinclair describes two of the young children, Vilimas and Nikalojus, who venture off into a new known city to sell newspapers all day and all night, coming home with only “twenty or thirty sense apiece-possibly as much as forty cents” (Sinclair 83). This is only the first of many examples in “The Jungle” that describe the lives of the children in the photograph.
Works Cited
"Eastern Illinois University Homepage." Childhood Lost. Eastern Illinois University, n.d. Web. 28 May 2013.
Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle. Cambridge, MA: R. Bentley, 1971. Print.
Creator
Lewis Hine (1874-1940)
Source
[no text]
Publisher
American Treasures of the Library for Congress
Date
October 1912
Contributor
Gift of the National Child Labor Committee, 1954
Rights
[no text]
Relation
[no text]
Format
[no text]
Language
[no text]
Type
[no text]
Identifier
[no text]
Coverage
[no text]
Original Format
[no text]
Physical Dimensions
[no text]
Files
Citation
Lewis Hine (1874-1940), “A group of child laborers at the cotton mills ready to begin their grueling work.,” Literary Machines, accessed May 16, 2024, https://colt211.omeka.net/items/show/3.