Child Labor Reform Photographs

Objective Assessment


As you view each photograph take note about what you see. (note people, background, objects) Pretend you were describing the image to someone who could not see it. Try to avoid making judgments.

Where are these children? List any clues relating to their surroundings.
Describe any tools or objects you see.
Describe their clothing. What do their clothes reveal about their work?

Subjective Assessment


What questions do you have about each of these photographs?
Based on your observations, list three things you might infer about the lives of these children. (Be sure to consider Hine's notes about the photographs when considering this.


Photograph A- The girl is in Whitnel Cotton Mill. To the left of the girl there is a long line of machinery. She is wearing a fairly nice dress which doesn't look as it should be worn for work. My question is if she has ever gone to school. She is poor and spent her money that she got on her dress that she is wearing at the time. She is scared that the person taking the picture may be from the government because when asked her age she didn't say her age.

Photograph B- The girls in this picture are looking glum perhaps standing outside the factory which they work at. The girls clothing makes it appear that they are poor because they look grimy and they don't look like their having a good time because they are having to work at such a young age.

Photograph C- In this picture the girl is standing in an isle at the factory and you can see part of a man's arm working. The girls clothing looks just a nice white dress which today might seem to dressy for work. Why is such a young girl working already? I might infer that this girl was poor and maybe was kicked out of her house because according to the caption she said she "just happened in". Also I can infer that she was not happy because she isn't smiling. Also that she has not lived the life of a normal child because she's been working her childhood.

Photograph D- In this picture is a boy standing outside selling newspapers while men and women pass him by. The boy's clothing is that of a beggar boy which people might have thought would help him get more newspapers sold. Why did they have such a small boy selling these papers rather than an adult? I might infer that this boy is trying to make money for his family because they are very poor. Or I could infer that this boy is trying to make money for himself because he is trying to live on his own. I could also infer that this boy is too young to work though he needs to.

Photograph E- In this picture it shows boys going through coal while being watched over by the slave drivers that prod the boys or kick them to keep them at work. The boys are all wearing all black clothes like a jacket and black pants and they all look cold. Why were there people watching over the worker boys? I might infer that these boys have been troublemakers and so they would need the people watching over them to keep them on task. Also I might infer that these boys have had a hard life that they have to go this low for a job. Also I might infer that they will have lung problems when they are older because since the coal gets into their lungs from the air.

Photograph F- In this picture it shows how the boys were still hard at work in the Indiana Glass Works even though its late at night. The boys are wearing worn and tatered clothing that is slightly grimy. Why are they working so late into the night? I might infer that they are not the most serious workers because you can see some boys in the back throwing something. Also I might infer that they don't have the best idea of what their doing because there are a few boys just standing around. Also I might infer that they are very poor because they didn't even use their money to buy newer clothes that don't have holes in them.

Photograph G- In this picture there is a long line of people including babies working on shucking clams for canning. They are all wearing aprons and they that don't have the best clothes on. Why are babies working because wouldn't they be not much of a help because they are so young? I might infer that the boss is crazy for hiring small babies to work for them. Also I might infer that the mothers needed to bring the childern in to work and decided that they could help them if they were going to be there. Another thing I might infer is that they were very tired since they had to work from 3:30 am to 5 pm.

Photograph H- In this picture there is people going in to their job to work the night shift. They are wearing clothes to try and keep them warm and the girls are wearing bonnets and it states in the description that few to none had wraps. Why do they have to have people work the night shifts? I might infer that the girls that are supporting their father are very nice in order to be willing to work for someone that has done nothing for them. Also I might infer that these girls are very close knit to stay together through the hard life of working like this at such a young age for someone that does nothing to them. Another thing that I might infer is that they are cold because they are all bundled up and it says in the description that when they come out of work the next day they are drenched in heavy, cold rain.