Reformers Understood the Impact of Child Labor
A placard like the one shown above isn’t enough space to detail the problems brought upon the child laborers at the end of the 1800s and early 1900s. Child labor reformers understood the negative impact of heavy labor on young children, and placards like this brought attention to the problem. They detailed how children stopped going to school in favor of earning a wage, giving them little chance of upward mobility. Their bodies were underweight from the physical labor. Some developed spinal curvature and work-related diseases. Accidents mangled limbs and sent children to hospitals their families couldn’t afford. These hard-working children had little chance to have a youth, they had adult responsibilities and the aches and pains of adult workers before they even hit puberty.