Today is the 100th anniversary of the Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916
The first child labor legislation, the Keating-Owen Act of 1916 used the government’s ability to regulate interstate commerce to regulate the increasingly unpopular use of child labor, thanks to efforts of social reformers and investigative photographers such as Lewis Hine.
The act banned the sale of products from any factory, shop, or cannery that employed children under the age of 14, from any mine that employed children under the age of 16, and from any facility that had children under the age of 16 work at night or for more than 8 hours during the day.
Although the Keating-Owen Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional in Hammer v. Dagenhart 247 U.S. 251 (1918) because it overstepped the purpose of the government’s powers to regulate interstate commerce.
n 1924, Congress proposed the Child Labor Amendment, but it wasn’t ratified by three-fourths of the states. Subsequent legislation was upheld, and the proposed amendment became moot.
“Breaker boys. Smallest is Angelo Ross. Hughestown Borough Coal Co. Pittston, Pa.” 1911.
“One of the spinners in Whitnel Cotton Mill. She was 51 inches high. Has been in the mill one year… Whitnel, N.C.” 1908.
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