Immigrant Children: Many children immigrated alone during this time. It was still costly to come to America and families would save their money for years. Annie Moore was the first immigrant through Ellis Island when it officially opened on January 1st, 1892. She was in line with her two younger brothers, Anthony and Phillip. Annie was only 17 and was from Ireland. They had been on a ship called the S.S. Nevada for 12 days, missing Christmas and New Year's Eve. After getting through the long and grooling process with her brothers, she was reunited with her parents later. They had been living in New York for a few years.
The image of the statue was after it was created for Ellis Island. It is important because it shows how important one child was to one the United States' most important landmark.
This statue shows how children are a large part of immigration to America and how immportant Ellis Island was.
This image surprises me because immigrants were not thought highly of. Why would they create a statue of one?
Other children were not as lucky as the Moore children. They had to survive on their own, working in factories, living on the streets or find other families to live with.
Children in the Workforce: Children did not always go to school during this time. Instead, they had to go work in factories, mills and coal mines. The growing industries called for more workers. Factory owners knew that they could pay children less money, so they were frequently hired. Children helped to support their families due to high prices in cities. These working conditions were especially dangerous for children. There was dirt all over they floor, sharp and deadly machinery, and long hours. In Minnesota, a paper named "The Labor World" had factory inspectors who forced children to return to school. If a child was found in the factory, they were removed unless they had special documentation from school saying that they could work. This forced children to get an education instead of helping their families.
This news article was written in order to show how many children could be found in factories. It is important because it being discouraged. Child Labor will be an ongoing battle for a few more decades.
The article tells the reader about the efforts to limit the use of children.
This relates to the Children of America because, adults are fighting for children's education.
This fits into what we have learned as the beginning of child labor in the gilded age.
It surprises me that this article was written in 1896. Children in the workforce was still a growing trend.
The chart shows how many children were in the workforce. There were only 765,000 in 1870. By the 1900s there were almost 2 million children working.
This data was taken to show that the number of children working, was rapidly increasing.
This explains the increasing risks for children's safety in dangerous working conditions
This fits into our discussions about Child Labor.
It surprises me because of how many children were already working before. It became more of an issue due to the working conditions.
Education: Education was not a priority for many American families at this time. As many children in cities were working. More rural areas created school houses. They were often one room houses, with a wide variety of ages in one class, and one teacher for a school. There were many excuses used for not sending children to school such as, patched clothing or muddy roads. Education was not thought of as a requirement in the life of a child. Depending on your parent's schooling, you may have known how to read or write, but it was not always common. Victoria Confino's report card shows the grades of other students too. Victoria was an immigrant from Castoria. She was still able to receive schooling and obtain good grades even though she was an immigrant.
This is significant because it shows how early education was for children and how they were graded.
You can learn about other students in the class and how they compare. Report cards were not very detailed and were hand written.
This fits into the history we have learned about culture of America and what children were doing instead of working.
It surprises me the Victoria was given such high grades as there were often acts of Nativism
This image taken from the Sloan school is from 1889.
This picture shows how small the school house was and just how many children attended. This picture was taken as a class picture like we still do today.
This explains how unimportant education truly was. These children didn't have a large facility with multiple class rooms and teachers.
This shows how far education has come to today. It shows what kind of environment kids were expected to learn in.
It surprises me that there are that many girls in school. Some families still held the values that the women were only good for housework and shouldn't have knowledge (unless they were to be a teacher).
Living Conditions: Over 40% of America's population lived in large cities at this time. City dwellers normally lived in tenements. The families shared a small room together. Diseases such as Tuberculosis ran rampant. Sewage and other waste flooded the streets. Children would share beds or sleep on the floor. They would even sleep outside or on the fire escapes. Many children wouldn't even survive due to diseases. The three boys are sleeping outside on a barrel. This photograph was taken by Jacob Riis and used in his book "How the Other Half Lives".
This picture was taken to show how some children were living. They are covered in dirt and surrounded by trash. It shows how disgusting cities were.
This shows what children had to live through when they were in the lower class.
This relates to Children of America by showing how they lived in these times and what they had to sacrifice for their families to survive.
We have discussed tenements in class and the slum's conditions.
It surprises me that they didn't move the barrel out of the dirt first before sleeping.
Toys and Games: Although children were often busy, they still made time to play. Manufactured toys are not yet a large item. Children still play with hoops and sticks through the streets. They begin playing with marbles and jacks. Most games were played without items to make the game easier. Games such as hide and seeks and red rover were common. These boys are ready to race with their hoop and stick through the streets.
This picture was taken to encompass the excitement of a hoop and stick race. It shows how children used to play and go outside.
It shows that you didn't need much to have fun.
This shows how children entertained themselves when they had free time.
This shows what was common in cities where there were lots of people.
It surprises me that they are so excited about their race.