Lewis Hine and Child Labor Reforms
In 1908, the National Child Labor Committee estimated that one of every four miners was a child between the ages of 7 and 16. Lewis W. Hine photographed these young Pennsylvania coal miners, who worked from dawn to dusk. Early-20th-century reformers crusaded against many social problems caused by America’s rapid industrialization and urbanization, including child labor. Teacher-turned-photographer Lewis Hine documented industrial child labor for the National Child Labor Committee. Disguised to evade suspicious employers, Hine captured some of the most powerful images in the history of documentary photography.
Image: Library of Congress
