Question

“Crouched over the coal chutes, the boys sit hour after hour, picking out the pieces of slate. I once tried to do the work a twelve-year old boy was doing day after day, for ten hours at a stretch, for sixty cents a day. The gloom appalled me.”

- John Spargo

What development did the conditions described in this quotation lead to?

A migration from the countryside to cities


Passage of child labor laws


Ideas of the Enlightenment


Spread of imperialism to Africa

Answer 1

The grim conditions of child labor as described by John Spargo led to the passage of child labor laws, limiting working hours and setting age requirements for workers.

Step-by-step explanation:

The conditions described in the quotation by John Spargo led to the passage of child labor laws. During the Industrial Revolution, children worked long hours in hazardous conditions for minimal pay, sparking public outrage and calls for reform. This public disapproval and the efforts of reformers eventually culminated in legislation to regulate child labor, such as limiting working hours and setting minimum age requirements for workers.

In Great Britain, these developments occurred during the 1830s and 1840s, with Parliament being pressed to limit the working time of child workers. In the United States, significant changes in child labor practices were not fully realized until the 1920s. Such legislation was often met with resistance from families in need of the income, employers in search of cheap labor, and politicians who viewed it as an interference with business and family rights.

Answer 2

Passage of child labor laws. As it is described in the passage, the boy is doing everything he can do just to earn money regardless of his age. This is considered as child labor law and it forbids the child to live and have its basic needs because of abusive people.