factories. Employers did not look at these children as human beings, merely pawns in their.
process to succeed in business. Poor children were looked upon as if one was to die, they could.
easily replaced. Since there were many children looking to work for there families, employers.
would pay children very little. Since children could be paid less then the average person, many.
companies and factories would fire older people to replace them with children. This led to high.
levels of unemployment among adults and more children took their places in the work place. It.
was an on going cycle (Green, p 29-31).
One of the most disturbing parts of child labor was the fact that the general public agreed.
with it. Often with the approval of political, cultural, and religious leaders, children were aloud to.
work in hazardous conditions, without any second thoughts about the situation (Child Labor, p.
132). Public felt that child labor was both beneficial to the children and also to the community. .
They felt that work would keep children out of trouble and they also felt that working at a young.
age would give the children a early sense of self-reliance and discipline. The community also.
agreed that child labor was good for helping the families to survive and make a better living.
Children bringing home money for their families was perhaps the only positive side of child labor.
(Green, p. 35).
If the community saw child labor from the inside, there optimistic views towards the.
situation may have changed. Working conditions were horrible. Children worked in shipyards, in.
construction, and in many kinds of factories. The worst conditions that children had to work in.
were in the coal mines. Both boys and girls worked in these coal mines. Children were usually.
hired over adults for several reasons, two of these reasons being children could crawl into narrow.
tunnels, unreachable by grown adults, and, once again, children could be paid less then adults.