LAD #23

As a result of 1900 census which said that over 2 million children were working in mills, mines fields factories and stores a National Chld Labor Committee hired Lewis Hine to take pictures of the reality of child workers. Karl Marx and Charles Dickens also played a role in the fight against child labor. The first labor bill which was passed in 1916 was called the Keating-Owen bill and used the governments ability regulated child labor. Children under age 14 were not aloud to work and those 16 years old or younger were unable to work in the mines. Hours were limited to only 8 hours a day and the act prohibited working at night. However, the Supreme Court ruled this act unconstitutional because it overstepped the governmental power to regulate interstate commerce. Another bill was later passed in December 1918 yet was found unconstitutional once again in the Supreme Court case Hammer vs. Dagenhart. A Child LAbor Amendment was proposed but then later shot down by states' rights arguments. A law regulating child labor would not be put into effect until the Fair Labor Standards Act which is still in effect today.