Pin it! jordan, Chet_Manly, Razorback and 1 other like this
The captions included with the photos of these young men tell quite a story.
jordan, Chet_Manly, Razorback and 1 other like this
The captions included with the photos of these young men tell quite a story.
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daemon 7 years, 9 months ago
Two other galleries featuring the images and stories of children workers in the early 1900's. It certainly was a different era of child labor. I can't help but think that these are the generations that produced our grandparents in some parts of the country.
Mining: http://mashable.com/2015/10/05/child-miners/#IC.JfoP0PkqR
Newsies: http://mashable.com/2016/06/05/newsies/#IC.JfoP0PkqR
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Razorback 7 years, 9 months ago
I got my first paying job when I was 14. Lied and said I was 16. Minimum wage was $3.35/hour. I like to believe it helped begin formulating my strong work ethic.
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glen 7 years, 9 months ago
I've never seen so many "14 year olds".
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Chet_Manly 7 years, 9 months ago
I don't know... Given the physically demanding nature of these jobs, they could actually be that age. Kids who run a constant deficit of both calories/nutrition and sleep can have delayed onset of puberty. I say this anecdotally, though I believe I have read somewhere there may be evidence for this. Though I'd be just as curious to know the truth.
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glen 7 years, 9 months ago
You could definitely be right, and I wouldn't be surprised one bit. These guys aren't even sneezing at puberty.
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Chet_Manly 7 years, 9 months ago
This was fascinating. I am amazed by the way people lived in our country pre-progressive era.
At the risk of sounding callous, I think we have gone too far the other direction. I think child labor laws aren't entirely good. (They are important in preventing the exploitation of children, though, I think.) But enterprising youngsters should be allowed to make some money from their hard work...under reasonable conditions.
I wonder if our country wouldn't be much improved if we could find some balance between the exploitation of over worked children of the past, and today's slothful youth many of whom are given no responsibility nor a chance to fail and suffer the consequences of their actions. I'd also be curious to hear an argument on which extreme is more harmful to society.
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