What Is the Value of a Child? Child Labor Laws and Jane Addams, Who Was Part of Progressive Movement Era

By Marcia Richards

Summer 2009

Abstract:

• Between 1900 and 1914, millions of immigrants came to America to work in factories, mills, and mines. Families were crowed together in tenements. Low wages created much human suffering. A wide range of individuals pushed progressive ideas and strategies at a time when government did little to help the poor. Jane Addams was a community builder who started Hull House. Hull House was a force for change in Chicago. It was the site of the first public playground, swimming pool, gymnasium, and Boy Scout troop. Addams and her staff’s work led to changes around the United States in factory laws, tenement codes, and child labor laws.
• Fifth grade students will examine, reflect, discuss, and complete written analysis worksheets regarding photographs and intent behind two pamphlets, which were written to draw attention to child labor. One pamphlet is written by Jane Addams of Hull House, Chicago, Illinois for National Child Labor League. The other pamphlet is a collection of photographs taken in New York City for the National Child Labor League.

Essential Question(s)/Enduring Understandings:

· How can we understand moments in history by examining and reflecting on photographs?

· How do the images chosen by the Child Labor League reflect the viewpoint that children laborers were unprotected by Child Labor Law?

· How can we understand Jane Addams’ viewpoint concerning the Child Labor Law by examining her words in an address made at the Chicago session of the 2^nd Annual meeting of the National Child Labor Committee on December 16, 1905?

· How do photographs, images, and writings help deepen our understanding of the issues addressed by the Progressive Movement?

Materials:

· Two Pamphlets from the National Child Labor Committee from Harvard University Collection Development Department:
1) Children Who Work in the Tenements, Volume 84, March 1908
2) The Operation of the Illinois Child labor Law, Volume 25, March 1906

· Written Document Analysis Worksheet

· Six questions to consider while discussing photographs adapted from those found in Engagement in Teaching History

· Compare and Contrast graphic organizer

Procedure:

• Write HOMEWORK on overhead. Ask students to give word associations for 2 or 3 minutes. Explain to students that the class will come back to these associations later in the lesson.
• Display photograph #2 from Children Who Work in the Tenements which shows a child in rags carrying a heavy load of garments to be finished at home on her head. Cover the caption under the photograph which says “Connecting Link Between ‘Sweat-Shop’ and Home Work “
• Consider these questions in a Think-Pair-Share:
  1) Who is in the photograph?
  2) Where was the photograph taken?
  3) When was this photograph taken?
  4) What does this photograph tell us about this person’s life?
• Class sharing of Think-Pair-Share
• Show overhead of the pamphlet, Children Who Work in the Tenements. The first 6 pages are all photographs of child labor with captions including the photograph examined in the Pair- Share. It’s caption reads, “Connecting Link between ‘Sweat-Shop’ and Home Work”
• Show overhead of 7^th page, which is a chart that displays ages of children founding working during an investigation. The ages cover from 3 years old to 16 years old. The chart also includes the number of those children who don’t attend school. Below this chart is a list of articles on which the children were found working on to be sold. The 8^th page is a photograph of products of child labor.
• Whole class sharing of the connotation of Home Work in this pamphlet.
• Whole class consideration of deepening questions: What can we infer about possible motives of the photographer of these photographs? How do these photographs relate to the Progressive Movement and the changes that Progressives wanted to enact?
• Complete compare and contrast of Homework on 2009 at their private homes with Home Work in 1908 in tenements depicted in pamphlet.
• Distribute Written Document Analysis Worksheet to extend thinking regarding primary source.
• How was Illinois a leader in enforcing Child labor laws? Have a small group examine Jane Addams document as to the decrease of child labor in Illinois. In this document Jane notes that Illinois requires an educational test before a child is allowed to work. It was noted enforcing this law meant that statistics had shown a marked increase in attendance in fourth and fifth grades. There had also been a marked decrease in enforced immigration as the educational provision had been enforced. Illinois at this point according to the document had the lowest number of children in proportion to the adult working population of any state in the Union even though at this time it was the third manufacturing state in the Union. Group can report back to whole class on their examination and tie in of this document with previous document. Use power point slide presentation on openoffice.org
• Do we have child labor today? Have small group research child labor and child labor products today. Report back to whole group class by designing a pamphlet to inform citizens of 2009 about child laborers.

Resources:

· http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons - Written document analysis sheet

· National Child labor Committee Pamphlet No.84, Children Who Work in the Tenements and Pamphlet No.2, The Operation of the Illinois Child Labor Law http://www.harvard.edu/ Then go to search box on the Harvard website and type Open Collections Program: Women Working

· Compare and Contrast graphic organizer

· Engagement in Teaching History by Fredrick Drake and Lynn Nelson

Assessment:

· Construct teacher observation checklist to assess group discussion

· Evaluate Compare and Contrast graphic organizer as critical thinking tool.

· Evaluate expository writing in extension activities using a rubric