Historical Perspectives

• For the vast majority of human history, children were expected to work as soon as they were physically able. Of course, human beings matured at an earlier age a millennia (even just centuries) ago, and cultural and social expectations were very different, as lifespans were also significantly shorter. That said, the 19th century was when the pendulum began to swing, and society at large began to question the earlier cultural values about child labor, and by the 20th century the tide was clearly starting to turn. A large part of the impetus for this change was the gradual realization of the importance of education, and that an educated work force provided a significant competitive edge in the long run.
  
  

Early U.S. Efforts to Ban

• There were efforts to regulate child labor in the U.S. as early as 1832, and Massachusetts passed a law in 1836 requiring that children under age15 working in factories must attend school at least three months out of the year. Various unions and political parties proposed making the minimum age for child labor to be 14 (or 15), but the idea was always strongly opposed by many industries, and the idea was always derailed.
  
  

1924 Amendment

• In 1924 Congress passed a constitutional amendment that would have given the federal government the authority to regulate child labor (which would have led to a de facto ban) , but the amendment was not ratified by enough states to be approved.
  
  

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

• The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 was a landmark piece of New Deal worker's rights legislation passed under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The FLSA not only established the first national minimum wage and overtime laws, it also officially banned the practice of child labor.
  
  

State Laws

• Some states (Massachusetts and California, for example) place even more restrictions on child labor than the FLSA (and its subsequent amendments), and most states have additional laws regarding farm versus non-farm employment and compensation for minors.