1. What type of organizations fought for labor reform?

2. When was the Keating-Owen Act?

Inference Questions:

1. Explain the significance of the verdict of the Muller v. Oregon case and how it affected women.

2. Why did Lewis Hine quit his job to join the AFL? Name another person who share similar ideals.

Skill Based-Question:

1. Evaluate the extent in which their was continuity and change in child labor from the 1890s to 1930s?

This image advocates for the reforms of child labor in the early 20th century. The image showcases two girls working long hours in factories without any safety equipment. Lewis Hine highlights the lack of wealth in the US as many children are forced to work at a young age to compensate for the rise in costs. Furthermore, he says the quote to emphasize that factories hired children in order to scam them of work as their percent of work to pay is significantly less than those of adults. Children are losing a fundamental part of their life when working all day and night during their childhood, instead of going to school and learning to get a more professional jobs. 

The image by Lewis Hine shows many men sitting on a beam of steel thousands of feet above the city. Furthermore, they have zero safety equipment and any wrong move will lead to their death. The quote highlights how girls are also facing a dangerous predicament, as the machinery could kill them or send them to the hospital. This is why labor reforms strike for safer working conditions. Lewis Hine wants to change his society for the better as he wants safer working conditions and a more free nation, as many immigrants, citizens, or children, are practically abused and are slaves. 

The Muller v. Oregon case was one of the most important U.S. Supreme Court cases of the Progressive Era. It upheld an Oregon law limiting the workday for female wage earners to ten hours. This relates to the image above because the newspaper was trying to spread the word, hoping to gain support for fewer hours of labor for women. This decision led to an increase in other state laws related to wages, work hours, and work conditions.

The video explains the creation of the US Department of Labor during the Progressive Era in 1913. It mentions that the main purpose of the US Department of Labor is to promote and develop the welfare of working people, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment. This relates to the quote by President Taft. For one, he was the one who signed off on the passing of the US Department of Labor. Also, it shows that a prominent political figure supports this organization and how it will benefit laborer interests.

- Jane Addams

This image depicts a map of the United States, the image contains a serious of child workers, with some photos being darker than others possibly expressing which states contain the most child labor workers. Americans had been expressing their concern for the children caught in child labor. Parents and adults were noticing the extent of how many kids were giving up their childhoods to work. The poster states that there were 2 million children under the age of 16 working in child labor at the time. This was meant to show the people’s concern for the children having to work long hours. They claim that they should be “normal” men and women when they grow up. This isn’t possible because they are always working and have no time to be a kid. Messed-up kids become messed-up adults. These children who have been exposed to such harsh environments, and were hurt and struggled, won’t grow up to be “normal”, they’ll have to live, if they make it to adulthood, with health problems, trauma, and more.

The gif shown above depicts a family of three, a mother, a father, and their small son. They seem to be farming what looks like potatoes. The family is sad because all they get is a sole coin from the big hand. This demonstrates the disparity of families, they have to resort to sending their small children to work just like they do as adults. They work hard and don’t get to grow up like the average kid. Yet even with all of this suffrage they still don’t make enough money to support themselves.

Organized labor was at the forefront of the Progressive Era. The American Federation of Labor was the most known union during this time and its founder was Samuel Gompers. The AFL's main purpose was to advocate for higher wages and shorter hours. This connects to the political cartoon because it depicts organized labor moving forward towards progress for workers, while a shortsighted employer is trying to stop organized labor's march forward.

The document above was what was which the Keating-Act was instituted on during 1916. It was an attempt to regulate interstate commerce by limiting children’s work hoursto 8 hours a day. This was the first child labor bill that was passed at the time, signed under Woodrow Wilson, but later, was found unconstitutional because it exceeded the government’s purpose to regulate trade.

The picture above shows Woodrow Wilson signing he labor act back in 1916. He did this because he believed it to be Constitutional as he he also thought he had the right to regulate interstate commerce. This is was later deemed not the case by the Supreme Court in Hammer v. Dagenhart 247 U.S. 251 (1918) and was removed.