Child Labor Dbq

After working for very long hours, as long as twelve hours a day, a breaker boy would become exhausted and careless around the machinery. Exhausted boys ran the risk of serious injury from the machinery. Fingers were often caught in coal conveyers, causing either severe maiming of the hand or the loss of fingers. Occasionally a boy fell into the coal crusher and was ground to pieces. Working conditions were significantly more dangerous in the underground mining operations.

Whether it was the school I attended, the church I sat in, or the family that raised me, I have grown up with the notion that people should pursue excellence in everything they do and that laziness is no excuse for handouts. I believe that if a man, or woman, works hard in life then they should receive the benefits and profits of their hard work. I also believe that all human beings are created equal; however, that does not mean that all humans are necessarily worth the same. Peter Singer, a famous philanthropist, challenges these viewpoints in his article, What a Billionaire Should Give-and What Should You?. In the article, Singer examines some very interesting and compelling points about what a human life is worth and whether or not the “fair

The workers often became injured, losing arms and skin, because they got caught in the machines. The long hours with no nutrition in the dust and smoke-filled air of the factories led to many deaths and illnesses. Although some factories did not display poor working conditions, most did, and child labor was also a serious problem in the factories because the owners often took advantage of the children's’ small and skinny bodies to do harmful machine work. In The Philosophy of Manufacture, Andrew Ure wrote that he had never seen beatings inflicted on children and that the children were always cheerful and alert. This statement is opinionated and not entirely true because when a person visits a factory,

During this time period it was not just adults that were working.   In order to support their families, children were sent to work as well.   The new places of work such as mines, factories, or garment shops were wanting workers that could reach into small spaces and could do small tedious jobs , there is where the children come in.

While some might argue that Industrialization had primarily negative consequences for society because of the dangerous working conditions with no compensation for injury, it was actually a positive thing for society. Industrialization’s positive effects were that there were more jobs, child labor laws were created, and there was better transportation. The first thing was that more jobs were introduced. This made it easier for people to provide for their family, and although everyone had to work, they were all able to get a job so they could work.

Many kids suffer, and didn’t have food and were very tired all day. According to Document 2 it explains that “people work at age 8 and kids would be severely beaten if caught sleeping or not doing the job right “as a result, kids had the hardest life then because they work for someone no matter what and never ever saw there

This next document shows the negative side of children working in the factories "This shows the ugly side of child labor, Lack of safety features/unsafe working conditions, the children working are very young they are obviously not in school/lack of education” (Document8). In this document they talk about how children working in these factories don’t get a good education, they do not have enough time to attend school. It also shows how they are very easily injured from working in these harsh conditions. Not only was there unequal pay for women, boys, and girls, but there was

In the years of this new century, the country has not had such a great chance to fix problems that we all face, except for now, as a result of the financial gift you have given. Through your generosity, I know that you will be able to give a helping hand to the people that will be affected by these reforms so that they may have a better quality of life. This winter of 1913 in the United States had made me think of all the people that need help and to have equal rights. Having equal rights and fixing the broken cracks of society is a very important responsibility to help those less fortunate than us, isn’t it Aunt Bessie? With the million dollars you have given to me, I will help others who do not have as good of an opportunity by distributing

Many conditions have combined to ban and eventually stop child labour in Canada. By the 20th century almost all provinces had enacted labour laws to restrict the employment of children. The government restricting child employment in mines was enacted in Nova Scotia in 1873, and British Columbia in 1877. By 1929 children under 14 had been legally banned from jobs in factories and mines in many major of provinces throughout Canada.

Unsafe working conditions plagued next to, if not, all factories during industrialization. Thousands of workers grew ill or suffered injuries as a consequence of their labor, and would yield their jobs, surrendering their source of income. Taken in the early 1900s, “Lewis Hine’s picture depicts two children working on a very dangerous machine” (Document 8). The matter that children were allowed to manage these machines is awful enough, ignoring just how dangerous the machines were. In addition to this, the children did not appear to be well supervised, which made it all too easy for a disastrous injury to occur.

Document four describes events typical to the life of coal miners in lines 9-10 “There were five of us boys. One lies in the cemetery ―fifty tons of rock dropped on him”. This specific text supports the claim that common laborers in this time were subjugated into frightful work environments that held their occupants in bleak hardship for so many hours on end. Lines two through three of document two states “We are tired of toil for naught with but bare enough to live on”. Not only were laborers conscripted into these extremely dangerous harsh conditions by their need to feed their families, they were barely paid enough to keep themselves and their families alive.

They also employed them because they were small and could go under and fix the machines easily. As children were expected to work at a young age in the Industrial Revolution time, they employed loads of children so than they didn’t have to do as much work and they could get more done at once. The jobs they done caused injuries frequently such as crushed fingers, broken arms, and even legs been pulled off. The factory owners did not force the workers to work they had a choice, either be homeless, or get underpaid and mistreated. The children had to fix broken machines and fix the broken threads, when they were still going.

Peter Singer argues that prosperous people should donate their excess money to the overseas aid groups. When saying this, he believes Americans should stop spending their money on luxuries such as a TV, a computer, a car, and videogames. Instead of spending money on items such as that, he thought we should start sending money to those who are starving in other countries and need our help. There are pros and cons to Singer’s argument and both can be greatly supported.

Most of the evocative photos taken were in coal mines and dark tunnels, because it best captures the reality of child labor it makes the photo come to life. While the older boys worked as mule drivers, couplers, runners, spragglers and gate tenders, the young boys worked as coal breakers. Their job was to reach down into the coal chutes and pick out any pieces of slate that was not capable of burning. Not only did they get severe scratches from the sharp slate that cut their skin, but they also put their lives at major risk. They could fall into the chutes and get smothered to death if they reached to far down.

But not all work done by children should be accepted as child labor. In other words, if a work doesn’t harm child’s health or personal development (educational issues), it is generally accepted as something positive and useful. Such activities develop children’s skills, provide experience and formulate them to be part of society. The term “Child Labor” is when children do work that damages their health or hamper mental or physical