National Child Labor Committee (U.S.)

Founded in 1904 under the leadership of Edgar G. Murphy, Felix Adler, Samuel McCune Lindsay, Owen Lovejoy, and A.J. McKelway. Its aims were legislation, investigation, and publicity to promote the interests of children.

From the description of Records, 1914-1943. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 122421727

The National Child Labor Committee was formed after a conference held in New York between Edgar Gardner Murphy's Alabama Child Labor Committee and the New York Child Labor Committee in 1904. The non-profit organization was a leading proponent for the national child labor reform movement and sought ways to remedy the situation that saw 1 in 6 children working in factories at the turn of the 20th century. The NCLC hired New York City based sociology professor Lewis Hine in 1908 to photograph the working and living conditions of young children. Hine's photographs provided the American public with a sobering view of working conditions in factories and mills and living conditions of children. Many of Hine's photographs were published nationally, which attracted attention and initiated reform movements and national legislation.

From the guide to the National Child Labor Committee Photographs, 1908-1923, (Baker Library, Harvard Business School)

Organizational History

• 1904: National Child Labor Committee organized at a mass meeting at Carnegie Hall, New York, N.Y.
• 1907: Organization chartered by act of Congress
• 1908: Hired photographer Lewis Wickes Hine to document child labor conditions
• 1912: Establishment of a Children's Bureau in U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Labor
• 1910 - 1920 : Published and disseminated the photographs of Lewis Hine in support of state and federal legislation to ban most forms of child labor and promote compulsory education in all states
• 1938: Passage by Congress of the Fair Labor Standards Act
• 1964: Passage by Congress of the Manpower Development and Training Act, the Economic Opportunity Act, and the Vocational Education Act
• 1975: Published “Rite of Passage: Youth's Transition from School to Work,” relating to youth work issues, and “Promises to Keep,” on the education of migrant children and outreach to their parents and families
• 1979: Contributed to the founding of the National Youth Employment Coalition
• 1985: Initiated the Lewis Hine Awards for Service to Children and Youth
• 1991: Created the KAPOW program partnering elementary schools with businesses to teach young children about work

From the guide to the National Child Labor Committee (U.S.) Records, 1904-1953, (bulk 1904-1934), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)