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Child Labour Opponents and Their Campaigns in the Americas
Nina Schneider ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This is a historical academic study examining the origins and development of child labour activism in the Americas between the 1880s and 1930s. It investigates who first raised child labour as a global concern and how activists organized campaigns across regions. The study argues that child labour opponents formed loosely connected networks but lacked a centralized international organization, unlike the anti-slavery movement.
Key points
- Child labour emerged as a key concern globally between 1880s and 1930s
- Child labour opponents in the Americas shared similar goals, timing, and campaigning mechanisms across regions
- These activists formed a loosely institutionalized network without a dedicated international organization
- The study uses a global history approach to identify large-scale patterns and compare different cases
Limitations
This is a historical study examining past activism rather than evaluating current child well-being outcomes or interventions. It does not provide data on the prevalence, causes, or effects of child labour, or measure the success of historical campaigns in reducing child labour.
Abstract
This book delves into the past and examines the origins of activism against child labour. It addresses a hitherto under-examined question: how and why did child labour develop into a key concern between the 1880s and 1930s? Who were the protagonists who first raised the issue of child labour as a global concern? The study aims to provide the first account of the history of diverse and locally grounded – but nationally and frequently globally connected – child labour opponents in the Americas, their motivations and campaigns, at the turn of the 20th century. I argue that, for the period between 1888 and 1938, one can identify similar protagonists, a joint goal, a broadly similar timing, common platforms, comparable campaigning mechanisms and many types of connections or entanglements across regions. Nevertheless, in contrast to the global anti-slavery movement, child labour opponents formed a loosely institutionalised network which lacked an international organisation that focused specifically on child labour. A global history approach to child labour opponents helps reveal large-scale patterns across societies and highlight similarities and differences between cases.