politics

Freedman has collected dozens of black and white photographs taken by Lewis Hine during the first decades of the twentieth century. Hine worked as an investigational photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC). The NCLC wanted the United States government to pass laws concerning child labor, and thought that photos of the work children did would be more effective persuaders than mere speeches and statistics. Hine traveled the nation with his camera taking photographs, sometimes despite risk to his person.

The text of the book serves partly as a brief biography of Lewis Hine, and partly as explanatory backdrop for the scenes in the photographs. Freeman gives enough background information to put the images in their context, but not so much data as to overwhelm the reader. The machines, tools and environments are so strange to the modern eye that without clarification, many pictures would be meaningless.

The most shocking photographs in the collection are of the young boys involved in the coalmines. The filth on their faces, hands and clothing is astonishing. By comparison, the dangers and deplorable conditions of working in a cotton mill are not as readily apparent as those of working in a coal mine. However, reading Freeman's text exposes the dangers of moving machinery and smothering lint and humidity not so clear in the photos.

The book concludes by sharing the changes in child labor laws that Hine's photographs helped bring about, as well as information on the child labor situation of today.

This book is full of eye opening and shocking information for the unaware. School may be hard, but without child labor laws things could be so much worse.

...

This book weaves Hine's story together with his photographs of kids working in Maine's sardine canneries, Texas cotton fields, New York laundries, Tennessee and Georgia cotton mills and in textile mills all over the U.S. south. He took some of the most haunting photos of dark tunnels and grimy breaker rooms in Pennsylvania coalmines. He went inside glass factories, to farms, and onto city streets at 1 a.m. to photograph children distributing newspapers and 1 p.m. to watch them shining boots.

...

If your kids occasionally gripe that they have it tough, get them this book and show them what the word means. Alyssa A. Lappen

Children and adults are both intrigued by this wonderful photo documentation of the history of immigrant children working in the United States. Lewis Hine's pictures tell the story and Russell Freedman's words add a greater depth to this sometimes sad yet beautiful celebration of children at work during the early 20th century.