SOC 101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Main Source
Document Summary
Child labor conflict is key in understanding transformation in the economic and sentimental value of children in the early twentieth century. Child was economically useless but emotionally priceless. Early child labor reformers didnt want to get rid of all child labor, just give them what they believed they deserved monetarily. The useful child: from family asset to social problem. In late nineteenth century, children used to be the main source of additional support for the urban family under stress. Using children was a legit social practice- virtues of early work, discipline, usefulness. Wanted to advocate for a reasonable amount of labor coupled with a reasonable amount of schooling. Twentieth century change - the success of industrial capitalism is primarily responsible for putting children out of work and into schools - we needed more educated and skilled workers. Real incomes reduced the need for children to provide for the family.
