Child-Labor Legislation and the Labor Force Participation of Children
Child-Labor Legislation and the Labor Force Participation of Children
复制标题
童工立法和儿童劳动力参与
DOI：
10.1017/s002205070011174x
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发表时间：
1974
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Allen R. Sanderson
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Allen R. Sanderson
本研究试图考察19世纪末20世纪初美国童工立法对儿童市场参与率和就业儿童在各种职业类别中的分布的影响。虽然从建国之初就雇用儿童，主要是在农业和家庭服务业，但直到内战后才出现对这种就业的某些方面作出规定的立法。大部分州立法是在1880年至1910年之间制定的。联邦法规直到1910-20年代才出现。传统的解释，虽然有可能找到一些相反的意见，认为1900年以前的州法律在遏制广泛雇用儿童方面相当无效。到1900年，10岁至15岁的儿童中有18.2%从事有酬工作，而1880年这一比例为16.8%。这一时期的立法，在相对较少的宣传下通过，受到执行不力，职业覆盖面有限以及人口普查中儿童定义的年龄限制的困扰。由费利克斯·阿德勒、佛罗伦萨·凯利、简·亚当斯领导的人道主义运动，在教会团体、妇女俱乐部和民间组织的帮助下，被认为纠正了现行法规的缺陷，并在世纪之交推动了额外的立法。改革团体公开宣称的目标是扭转儿童在工业中就业的假定增长趋势。这些组织还认为，在1900年至1910年的十年间，情况恶化了，现在只有联邦立法才能阻止儿童流入工厂。主张更严格立法的人利用童工问题来说明他们对工厂和市场体系的蔑视。立法禁止雇用某一年龄以下的儿童，列举限制性职业，规定工作时间的最高限额和时限，或具体规定就业的教育要求。本文主要论述年龄规定，通常是法律的就业的最低年龄，统一性问题
This study is an attempt to examine the impact of child-labor legislation in the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries on the participation rates of children in the market and on the distribution of employed children among various occupational categories. While children have been employed from the beginning of the nation, mainly in agriculture and domestic service, legislation regulating certain aspects of that employment did not appear to any extent until the post-Civil War period. The bulk of state legislation came between 1880 and 1910. Federal statutes did not appear until the 1910-20 decade. The traditional interpretation, although it is possible to find some opinion to the contrary, suggests that the pre-1900 state laws were rather ineffective in curbing the widespread employment of children. By 1900 18.2 percent of all children ten through fifteen in the population were gainfully employed, compared with 16.8 percent in 1880. Legislation in this period, passed with relatively little publicity, was beset with poor enforcement, limited occupational coverage, and restrictions on only the younger ages of the census definition of children. A humanitarian move-ment, led by Felix Adler, Florence Kelly, Jane Addams, and aided by church groups, women's clubs, and civic organizations, is credited with correcting deficiencies in existing statutes and pressing for additional legislation at the turn of the century. The avowed goal of the reform groups was to reverse the supposed increasing trend in the industrial employment of children. It was also the contention of these organizations that the situation had worsened during the 1900-10 decade and now only federal legislation could stem the flow of children into the factories. The advocates of more stringent legislation used the issue of child labor to illustrate their contempt for the factory and market system in general. The legislation either prohibited the employment of children below a certain age, enumerated restricted occupations, set ceilings and timing for hours of work, or specified educational requirements for employment. The paper treats mainly the age provisions, usually a minimum age of for legal employment, the uniformity issue