美国内战前的童工问题

A Study on Using Child Labors in America before Civil War

内战前,童工劳动在美国是一个很普遍的社会现象。童工成为许多新建工厂的重要劳动力,人数一度占到工厂工人的1/3左右;整体雇佣多子女家庭是许多工厂主乐意采用的策略,1830年前后,这种做法在许多地方相当盛行。童工的大量使用与当时的劳动力缺乏、童工劳动力价格低廉以及清教徒劳动观念的影响等因素密切相关。童工的工作环境和生活状况非常恶劣,通常是日出而作,日落而息,而且人身自由还受到严格的限制。随着童工问题的日益严重,限制使用童工劳动的呼声也不断高涨。

Using child labors was a popular social phenomenon in America before the Civil War. In fact, child labors were the main labor forces in many newly-built manufactories that employed one-third of the total workers. That families with multi-children were wholly employed was the way many mill-owners tended to use, a prevalent method in many areas before 1830. Slathering child labor was closely related to the lack of work labor, the cheapness of child labors, and the relevant Puritan ideology. Hence the working surroundings and life conditions were very much awful. Usually, they worked from early morning to night, and were strictly restricted in freedom of action. But the voice of restricting using child labors became higher and higher along with the gradual seriousness of using child labors.