March 3 - 1842: Massachusetts Passes First Child Labor Law

It is cold and dark this March in Lowell, MA. My pere shakes my shoulder, waking me up. It is time for the family to go to our jobs at the mill. We help make shirts and pants. Mere cuts the cloth, Pere helps run the machines and I carry bundles of shirts. We live in a big brick building owned by the mill. They feed us, too. The clothes we make are sold everywhere in the United States. This is a big mill in the area and there are lots of families working here.

It was not like this when my family lived in Canada. Home is not like here. I went to school, Mere kept house, Pere labored on the family farm. The times, though, were hard and the farm could not produce enough. Pere left for a job in New England. After nine months, he came back. He was wearing a shiny new watch and shoes. Pere thought if we all worked, we could save money and return to the farm. He said that the machines performed all the hard tasks – the people made sure the machines didn’t stop. He also thought I could do a man’s job. Two months later the whole family went to New England. Pere says if we make enough we can go back to the farm.

Yesterday, we worked from seven in the morning to seven in the evening. I carried a lot of bundles. Sometimes I made sure the giant wheels in the looms keep turning. If I am not careful, my hand can get caught in the spinning wheel. Yesterday – when I went into the mill it was dark. When I came home from the mill it was dark. I am only 11 and there are days during the winter I do not see the sun.

Today, today – today I will see the sun. Today I come home from the mill before Mere and Pere. People in charge in Boston passed a law that I cannot work more than 10 hours a day. It doesn’t leave time for school – but it gives time for rest, it gives me time to play. I wonder what school here is like?

March 3 - 1842: Massachusetts Passes First Child Labor Law

Before Reading: Would you rather be working today or in school?

Check Comprehension: Where is this family from? (The family lived in Canada before moving to New England) How long does the child in this story work each day? (He works from 7 in the morning to 7 at night.) What law changed? (The people in Boston passed a lw so kids couldn’t work more than 10 hours in a day.)

Discussion Questions: How has work life changed in the past 250 years? Students will talk about most work being on farms rather than cities and kids working instead of going to school.