Exploring American History
Unit VII – Becoming a World
Power
Chapter 21 - The Progressive Spirit of
Reform
Section 2- Reforming the Workplace
Reforming the Workplace
The Big Idea
In the early 1900s, Progressives and other reformers focused
on improving conditions for American workers.
Main Ideas

Reformers attempted to improve conditions for child
laborers.

Unions and reformers took steps to improve safety in the
workplace and to limit working hours.
Lewis Hines
Child Labor
Sadie Pfeifer, 48
inches high. Has
worked half a
year.
Child Labor
 Working
 The
conditions
hours, the pay.
 Factory
children
 Children
Breaker Boys" were used in the anthracite coal
mines to separate slate rock from the coal after it
had been brought out of the shaft. They often
worked 14 to 16 hours a day.
who worked
the fields.
 These
young workers
could not
Child Labor

1938- the Fair Labor
Standards Act was
passed and children were
freed from the bondage
of dangerous work
Main Idea 1:
Reformers attempted to improve
conditions for child laborers.
• Marie Van Vorst.
• Many children worked in.
• Children.
• Reformers wanted.
Child-Labor Reform

Florence Kelley.

Massachusetts - 1912.

Congress passed.

The Supreme Court ruled the laws
unconstitutional.
Reforming the Workplace
 Florence
Kelly and the 1904- National
Child Labor Committee.
.
.
 Courts
and Labor Laws
 Lochner v. New York-.
 Muller v. Oregon-.
 Unions
 ILGWU-.
 IWW-
Triangle Shirtwaist fire
Congress Attempts to Control
Child Labor
In 1916 -Keating-Owen Act.
In 1918 the Supreme Court ruled that the
Keating-Owen Act was unconstitutional.
Second Child Labor Law.
This legislation was declared unconstitutional as
a result of the Drexel Furniture Company case
in 1922.
Fair Labor Standards
Act
June, 1938, that
Congress passed the
Fair Labor
Standards Act.
Improving Conditions for Children



Identify - Where did children work?
Recall - What was the purpose of the National
Consumer’s League?
Make Inferences – Why did some parents
ask their employed children to lie about their
age?
Main Idea 2:
Unions and reformers took steps to improve safety in
the workplace and to limit working hours.

Workplace accidents were common in 1800s and early 1900s.

.

.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire.

Reformers fought for workers’ compensation laws

In 1902 Maryland.
The Courts and Labor

Some businesses opposed workplace regulations.

New York passed a law in 1897 limiting bakers to a
10-hour workday.
 Bakery
owner Joseph Lochner sued.
 In Lochner v. New York (1905), the Supreme Court ruled
the law unconstitutional.
 The court ruled that the state could not restrict employers
from entering into any kind of agreement with employees.

In 1908 Muller v. Oregon.
Labor Organizations
•Labor
unions
tried
• American
Federation
of Labor
• Supported
capitalism
• socialism.
• Industrial
Workers of
the World
(IWW).
Safety and Working Conditions




Identify – In what year did the Triangle Shirtwaist
Fire take place?
Cause and Effect – Why were so many people
killed in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire?
Analyze – What are some possible reasons business
leaders resisted government regulations?
Predict – If 500,000 people suffered industrial
accidents today, what might happen to that industry
as a result?
Safety and Working Conditions


Compare – How do capitalism and
socialism differ?
Identify Cause and Effect – What
was the effect of Lochner v. New
York on employers?