•Legislation•
"Through the continual agitation, we have done away with the most outstanding evils of child labor." —Mother Jones [1]
Before the March of the Mill Children, some state and regional child labor laws existed. The problem was lack of consistency and lax enforcement. There was an economic disincentive for localities to enforce such laws since the corporations would simply move their businesses to other areas. In order to have meaningful reform, there needed to be consistent laws throughout the country. The public outcry generated by Mother Jones made it difficult for elected officials to continue to ignore the issue of child labor and helped lead to the formation of the National Child Labor Committee.
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Click on a year to see child labor timeline information.
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