Youth, race, and labor: working kids and historical ambivalence in twentieth century America

As a society, we share assumptions that exhibit a profound historical ambivalence regarding young people at work. On the one hand, we all acknowledge that there is something socially and morally reprehensible about forcing children to toil. Many of us see child labor as a vestigial remnant of the harshest aspects of the Industrial Revolution. On the other hand, we also continue to see work as a sign of the moral and social health of a community and hence, we see employment among the young as a stabilizing and redemptive activity. Especially when addressing the nation's poor, urban and African-American populations, youth unemployment is almost universally understood as a root cause of social unrest and community breakdown. This paper outlines some of the historical arguments about children in the work force and raises the question about the national resolve to seriously address this issue.