These photos ended child labor in the US

Summary

The video highlights the work of Lewis Hine, a photographer hired by the National Child Labor Committee in 1908 to document child labor in the United States. Through his poignant images, such as those of Sadie Pfeifer in a South Carolina cotton mill, Hine exposed the harsh realities faced by working children, which eventually led to social reforms. His technique of using shallow depth of field and framing from the children's perspective humanized their plight and shifted public perception. Hine's work significantly contributed to the introduction of laws regulating child labor.

Takeaways

• 👧 Sadie Pfeifer was 9 years old when she was photographed operating heavy machinery in a cotton mill in Lancaster, South Carolina, in 1908.
• 🏭 Many children worked in mills, fields, factories, and mines across the United States, with a significant child labor problem revealed by the 1900 federal census.
• 📸 Lewis Hine, hired by the National Child Labor Committee in 1908, used photography as a tool for social reform, documenting the harsh realities of child labor.
• 📝 Hine's photographs, combined with detailed captions, helped humanize child laborers and raise public awareness, leading to regulatory changes.
• 🗞️ Hine's photos were often framed similarly to show the widespread nature of the child labor issue, and his technique included a shallow depth of field to emphasize the workers over the machinery.
• 🔍 Hine's photographic technique involved a narrow point of focus and shooting from a lower angle to capture the children's perspective and emphasize their humanity.
• 📚 Hine's work significantly contributed to changing public perception and eventually led to laws regulating child labor and promoting education for children.
• 🛠️ Hine continued to use his dignifying photographic techniques in other projects, including documenting the construction of the Empire State Building.
• 🌟 Hine was a pioneer in using photography for social documentary, understanding the power of images to tell impactful stories.
• 📢 The script encourages viewers to leave comments with photo suggestions for future seasons and promotes CuriosityStream for more historical photography content.

Q & A

Who was Sadie Pfeifer and what was her role in the photo taken in 1908?

Sadie Pfeifer was a 9-year-old girl operating heavy machinery in a cotton mill in Lancaster, South Carolina, in 1908. She was one of many children working in mills, fields, factories, and mines at that time.

What common factor did the children working in various industries across the United States share?

The common factor was that they all met Lewis Hine, a photographer hired to document and report on child labor in the United States.

What did the 1900 federal census reveal about child labor in the United States?

The 1900 federal census revealed that 1.75 million children under the age of 16 were working, which was more than one in five children at the time.

Why were children from poor families targeted for jobs during the Industrial Revolution?

Children from poor families were targeted because they would work for very low wages and were less likely to strike compared to adults.

What role did Lewis Hine play in addressing the child labor problem in the United States?

Lewis Hine was hired by the National Child Labor Committee to investigate and report on industries employing children. His photographs and reports helped to humanize the lives of child laborers and ultimately led to public pressure for legislative changes.

What was the significance of Hine's 'Social photography: how the camera may help' speech in 1909?

In his 1909 speech, Hine emphasized the potential power of photography as a tool for social reform, suggesting that photographs could be used to bring light to social issues and drive change.

What were some of the industries and locations Hine visited to document child labor?

Hine visited coal mines in Pennsylvania, sardine cutters in Maine, oyster shuckers in Louisiana, tobacco pickers in Kentucky, cranberry pickers in Massachusetts, beet farms in Colorado, and young messengers and newsboys in cities across the country.

How did Hine ensure the authenticity of his photos and the stories of the child laborers?

Each of Hine's photos included a detailed caption written by him, often containing information about the child's wages, work conditions, and personal stories, sometimes including their injuries.

What photographic techniques did Hine use to humanize his subjects in his photos?

Hine used a shallow depth of field to focus on the children while blurring the machinery or workplace behind them. He also shot from a lower angle to capture the children at their eye level, making the images feel more personal and humanizing.

What impact did Hine's photographs have on public perception and legislation regarding child labor?

Hine's photographs changed public perception of child labor by humanizing the children and their harsh working conditions, ultimately leading to pressure on state legislatures to introduce laws regulating work for those under the age of 18 and sending kids back to school.

How did Lewis Hine's work influence the use of photography in social documentary?

Lewis Hine was one of the first to use a camera as a tool for social documentary. His work demonstrated the power of images to tell stories and influence social reform, setting a precedent for future documentary photographers.

Outlines

00:00

📷 The Impact of Lewis Hine on Child Labor Reform

Sadie Pfeifer, a 9-year-old operating heavy machinery in a cotton mill in 1908, was among many child laborers captured by Lewis Hine. At the turn of the 20th century, 1.75 million children were working in the U.S. The Industrial Revolution demanded cheap labor, targeting children from poor families. Despite widespread knowledge, no action was taken until Hine's photos exposed the reality. Hired by the National Child Labor Committee in 1908, Hine's work documented children in mills, factories, fields, and mines across the country. His 'photo stories' humanized child laborers, leading to public outcry and legislative changes. Hine’s photographic techniques, like shallow depth of field and consistent framing, emphasized the humanity of these children over their harsh work environments, contributing significantly to social reform.

05:01

🗽 Lewis Hine's Legacy in Photography

Lewis Hine, known for documenting child labor, also photographed the construction of the Empire State Building. His dignifying techniques focused on the workers' perspectives, highlighting them over the machinery. Hine pioneered the use of photography for social documentary, understanding its power to tell impactful stories. In his 1909 speech, he emphasized the potential of photographs to drive social change, as seen in his work on child labor. This episode concludes Darkroom season 1 and promotes the documentary 'The Man Who Shot Tutankhamun' on CuriosityStream, a subscription service supporting educational content.

Keywords

💡Child Labor

Child labor refers to the employment of children in various industries, often under harsh and unsafe conditions. In the video, child labor is depicted through the story of Sadie Pfeifer and other children working in mills, fields, factories, and mines in early 20th-century America. This practice was widespread due to the Industrial Revolution's demand for cheap labor, and children were targeted because they could be paid less and were less likely to strike.

💡Lewis Hine

Lewis Hine was a photographer and sociologist who used his camera to expose the realities of child labor in the United States. Hired by the National Child Labor Committee, Hine traveled extensively to document the conditions of working children, using his photographs to advocate for social reform. His work played a crucial role in changing public perception and pushing for child labor laws.

💡National Child Labor Committee

The National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) was an organization formed in the early 20th century to promote the welfare of working children and advocate for child labor laws. The NCLC hired Lewis Hine to document child labor conditions, and his photographs were instrumental in raising awareness and driving legislative change.

💡Progressive Movement

The Progressive Movement was a period of social activism and political reform in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It aimed to address problems caused by industrialization, including child labor. Lewis Hine was part of this movement, using his photography to support efforts to improve labor conditions and protect children.

💡Photo Stories

Photo stories are a combination of photographs and accompanying text that tell a narrative. Lewis Hine coined this term to describe his work documenting child labor, where each image was paired with detailed captions explaining the context and conditions. These photo stories helped humanize the issue and make it more relatable to the public.

💡Shallow Depth of Field

Shallow depth of field is a photographic technique where only a narrow part of the image is in focus, while the rest is blurred. Lewis Hine used this technique to emphasize the child workers in his photographs, blurring the background machinery to highlight the individuals' experiences and conditions. This approach made his images more personal and impactful.

💡Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period of significant industrial growth that began in the late 18th century. It led to the mechanization of manufacturing and created a demand for cheap labor, which included children. The video highlights how this era's economic changes contributed to the widespread use of child labor in factories, mines, and mills.

💡Breaker Boys

Breaker boys were young workers in coal mines who separated impurities from coal by hand. This hazardous job was one of many documented by Lewis Hine to expose the harsh realities of child labor. His photographs of breaker boys in Pennsylvania coal mines illustrate the dangerous and grueling work children were subjected to.

💡Social Reform

Social reform refers to organized efforts to improve societal conditions and address injustices. In the context of the video, social reform is linked to the Progressive Movement's efforts to end child labor. Lewis Hine's photographs were a powerful tool in these efforts, helping to bring about legislative changes that regulated child labor.

💡Cotton Mill

Cotton mills were factories where cotton was processed into textiles. The video mentions Sadie Pfeifer, a young girl working in a cotton mill in South Carolina, to illustrate the widespread use of child labor in such facilities. Lewis Hine's photographs of children in cotton mills were pivotal in raising awareness about the exploitation of child workers.

Highlights

Sadie Pfeifer was 9 years old when this photo was taken, operating heavy machinery in a cotton mill in Lancaster, South Carolina, in 1908.

Sadie Pfeifer was one of many children working in mills, fields, factories, and mines across the United States.

At the turn of the 20th century, the United States knew it had a child labor problem, with 1.75 million children under the age of 16 working at the time.

Children from poor families were targeted for jobs because they would work for next to nothing and were less likely to strike than adults.

The National Child Labor Committee hired photographer Lewis Wickes Hine in 1908 to document and report on industries employing children.

Lewis Hine emphasized the potential power of photography as a tool for social reform in his 1909 speech, 'Social photography: how the camera may help.'

Hine traveled extensively, gathering information, interviews, and images of working children across the country.

He visited coal mines, sardine cutters, oyster shuckers, tobacco pickers, cranberry pickers, beet farms, and young messengers and newsboys.

When not allowed access to mills and factories, Hine documented the comings and goings of workers, whose shifts often lasted late into the night.

Hine's photographs included detailed captions, describing the workers, their wages, and work conditions.

Hine's 'photo stories' humanized the lives of child laborers, bringing attention to the widespread problem.

Hine's photographic technique involved shallow depth of field and shooting from a lower angle, emphasizing the worker over the machinery.

Hine's photos of cotton mill workers like Sadie highlighted the repetitive nature of child labor.

Hine's work pressured state legislatures to introduce laws regulating work for those under the age of 18, sending kids back to school.

Hine continued to use his dignifying techniques in other projects, such as photographing the construction of the Empire State Building.

Transcripts

Sadie Pfeifer was 9 years old when this photo was taken.

Operating heavy machinery that’s nearly twice her height in a cotton mill in Lancaster,

South Carolina, in 1908.

She was just one of many children working in mills, fields, factories, and

mines.

And although these kids were spread across the United States, working in separate industries,

they all had one thing in common:

They all met Lewis Hine.

At the turn of the 20th century, the United States knew it had a child labor problem.

The 1900 federal census revealed that 1.75 million children under the age of 16, more

than one in five, were working at this time.

The Industrial Revolution had mechanized American and European manufacturing, and a cheap labor

force was needed to complete repetitive tasks for hours on end.

Children from poor families were targeted for these jobs because they would work for

next to nothing and were less likely to strike than adults.

State legislatures and the American public knew this was happening on a mass scale, but

didn’t act.

Until they saw what it actually looked like.

Starting in 1908, the newly formed National Child Labor Committee hired a photographer

to investigate and report on the industries employing children.

That photographer was Lewis Wickes Hine: educator, sociologist, and member of the Progressive Movement.

A period in the United States that saw a wave of political activism and social reform.

Hine emphasized the potential power of photography as a tool for social reform in a speech he

gave in 1909 called “Social photography: how the camera may help.”

He said, “The dictum, then, of the social worker is “Let there be light;” and in

this campaign for light we have for our advance agent the light writer — the photograph.”

He traveled extensively, gathering information, interviews, and images of working children

across the country.

He visited coal mines in Pennsylvania.

Where adolescent “breaker boys” worked underground for hours, separating impurities

from coal.

Sardine cutters in Maine.

Oyster shuckers in Louisiana, some as young as 4 years old.

Tobacco pickers in Kentucky.

Cranberry pickers in Massachusetts.

Beet farms in Colorado.

And young messengers and newsboys in cities all over the country.

Many of the photos captured adults nearby, supervising the children while they worked.

When Hine wasn’t allowed access to the mills and factories, he waited outside

and documented the comings and goings of its workers,

whose shifts often lasted late into the night.

Laborers would pose for portraits and tell Hine a bit about themselves, their wages,

and their work conditions.

Sometimes they showed their horrific injuries and described what happened, like this boy

from Bessemer City, North Carolina, whose hand got crushed in the gears of a cotton

spinner.

We know that because each photo, numbering over 5,000, includes a detailed caption written

by Hine.

Hine coined the term “photo stories” to describe this marriage of images and text,

and it’s a big part of how the photos humanized the lives of child laborers to an indifferent

public.

But it’s also his photographic technique that makes them feel so personal.

Let’s use the photos of cotton mill workers like Sadie as an example.

First, many of these photos are framed the exact same way, just substituting a different

worker.

Hine was trying to show that each child’s experience was part of a widespread problem,

and the repetition in the images signals that.

You can really see how intentional the framing is when you look at how the image of Sadie

appeared when it was first published in a Progressive magazine, in 1909.

It’s opposite a nearly identical photo of a different worker, set so that the symmetry

of the two images makes the machinery seem to go on and on.

The left-hand caption says, “Spinner.

A type of many in the mill.”

Hine’s photographs are also shot with a very shallow depth of field, which basically

means a narrow part of the photo is in focus, and the rest is blurred out.

A photo with a deep depth of field would look like this one by Jacob Riis, who was photographing

New York City slums around the same time as Hine.

Notice how the playground in the background is in focus, just like the kids in the foreground.

Now look at Hine’s portraits.

In this one, the factory this boy works at looms behind him, but it’s almost totally

blurred out.

This was a recurring visual theme — to include the machinery or the workplace in the frame,

but obscure it, favoring the worker instead.

This narrow point of focus, combined with shooting from a lower angle — the eye level

of these children — is why these images are so effective at humanizing their subjects.

Photos like the ones from the South Carolina cotton mills changed the public perception

of child labor in the United States,

ultimately pressuring state legislatures to introduce laws regulating work for those under

the age of 18 — and sending kids back to school.

Lewis Hine went on to photograph the construction of the Empire State Building in New York City,

using the same dignifying techniques he photographed child laborers with:

Considering the perspective of his subjects

with a narrow focus, emphasizing the worker, not the machinery.

Hine was one of the first to use a camera as a tool for social documentary, to shine

a light on the mostly unseen.

He understood early on the power images have to tell stories.

As he said in that 1909 speech:

“Take the photograph of a tiny spinner in a Carolina cotton mill.

With a picture thus sympathetically interpreted, what a lever we have for the social uplift.”

Hey everyone, that was Darkroom season 1!

I'm going to take a break from it and work on some other stuff, like History Club with Phil.

If there are photos you think would make good stories for the next season, make sure to

leave a comment below.

In the meantime, if you're looking for more great videos on photography in history, check

out the documentary "The Man Who Shot Tutankhamun", available on CuriosityStream.

CuriosityStream is a subscription streaming service that offers thousands of documentaries

and nonfiction titles from some of the world's best filmmakers.

You can get unlimited access starting at $2.99 a month — and because you're a Vox fan,

the first 31-days are free if you sign up at curiositystream.com/Vox and use the promo

code "vox."

Curiosity Stream doesn't impact our editorial, but their support makes videos like this one possible.

So go check them out!