Child Labor Quotes
3rd Earl Russell of Kingston
Shanker was particularly honest and candid. Of the record, many politicians say the same think about their representing the interests of schoolchildren when the children are given the right to vote. Despite Shanker’s interest in representing his teachers, his policies and the UFT’s practices put much emphasis on student achievement as this is a goal of almost all teachers. The conflict with teachers are almost always with the politicians and school administrators who have their vested interests to protect and for whom the teachers make good scapegoats.
This was a description of the famous Lawrence, MA, textile mill strike.
He in that same year then persuaded sympathetic MP, John Hobhouse, to introduce the first bill into the House of Commons regulating child labor in the mills. Considered radical in its day, forbade employment of children under the age of 9 from working in the mills, and then limited the hours that children from 9 to 18 to 12 hours a day. The bill was rejected with the same claims that have been made regarding child labor reform attempts ever since. It would slow growth, harm the economy, exacerbate the poverty of poor families and interfere with the parents right to bring up their children. It was not until after his death in 1861 that meaningful child labor laws were passed for the British mills.
Labor reform was a burning issue in most of the industrialized countries of the world. The two areas that legislation was under consideration all over were working hours and child labor. There were no overtime provisions, employers were free to require workers to work 7 days for as many hours as they wanted. There were no limitations on the use of child labor. This is one of the classic conservative oppositions to these reforms. Ironically to us today, those against reform argued that it was disrespectful of the working man to take away his freedom to work whatever hours he so chose, and it was disrespectful of the workers role as a head of family to decide for him when and under what conditions his children could work. Germany at the time was a very dramatic example of the struggle as the Chancellor was opposed to all labor reform and Kaiser Wilhelm II felt that reforms were needed. The two most powerful Germans were split on this issue as were people in most countries.
It is hard for us today to appreciate the 17th-20th centuries elites’ intense focus on child labor, but the abuses were horrible. Men and women like Schopenhauer would personally observe them every day. These quotes give us a historical feel for that issue, There has been so much reform, that almost all the abuses in modern times are in poorer countries which we do not get to see or experience—especially in the way that Schopenhauer did.
The President was supporting birth control programs over church opposition
