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Shocking Early 1900s Portraits of America’s Child Laborers

Lewis Hine

In the early 1900s, the National Child Labor Committee worked diligently to advocate for an end to the rampant child labor practices across the United States. Many companies, and even industries, relied on a labor force of underage workers, who ages ranged anywhere from 5 to 14. They worked mines, milled cotton, picked fruit, caught shrimp, rolled cigars, sold newspapers and much more for an adult world that saw them as little more than small hands. Many of the children were immigrants or children of immigrants, hired for extremely low wages. Photographer Lewis Hine was hired by the NCLC to capture images of kids working in factories and fields across the country, and what resulted was an amazing collection of portraits – the children who helped to build America’s capitalist dream, another example of the reality behind the myth of equality for all. Today, American society is much more ethical – we don’t allow our own children to work, instead we buy products that are made by children overseas. Check out a gallery of Hine’s portraits and his original captions below.

Photos and Captions via historyplace.com

Written By

Meghan MacRae grew up in Vancouver, Canada, but spent many years living in the remote woods. Living in the shadow of grizzly bears, cougars and the other predators of the wilderness taught her about the dark side of nature, and taught her to accept her place in nature's order as their prey. She is co-founder of CVLT Nation.

“DREAMLESS"
“Lev
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