The photo was taken by Lewis Hine on January 10, 1911, at the Ewen Breaker in South Pittston, PA, which was owned by the Pennsylvania Coal Company. Hine took over 7,000 photos of children working at breakers, textile mills, and elsewhere in an effort to change the public's opinion of child labor and end it. This photo is considered his most influential.
Breaker boys were responsible for breaking up large pieces of coal into smaller ones and removing impurities with hand tools while sitting on a wooden bench in a room filled with coal dust. They worked ten hours a day, six days a week. Those who didn't have gloves (or weren't allowed to wear them) received frequent cuts from the sharp coal.
My great grand father, in typical Italian fashion, came to america in the early 20th century, alone at the age of 13, with nothing but the clothes on his back. He found work in a mine like this in Pennsylvania. He died before I was born, and to be frank, I do not know what he looked like as a child so he could even be in this picture; the work is what killed him though, black lung is no joke.
From my understanding he did not regret it one bit, as poverty was prolific in Italy at the time.
omnificunderachiever on May 4th, 2023 at 15:26 UTC »
The photo was taken by Lewis Hine on January 10, 1911, at the Ewen Breaker in South Pittston, PA, which was owned by the Pennsylvania Coal Company. Hine took over 7,000 photos of children working at breakers, textile mills, and elsewhere in an effort to change the public's opinion of child labor and end it. This photo is considered his most influential.
Breaker boys were responsible for breaking up large pieces of coal into smaller ones and removing impurities with hand tools while sitting on a wooden bench in a room filled with coal dust. They worked ten hours a day, six days a week. Those who didn't have gloves (or weren't allowed to wear them) received frequent cuts from the sharp coal.
Chuffedroadway87 on May 4th, 2023 at 15:40 UTC »
My great grand father, in typical Italian fashion, came to america in the early 20th century, alone at the age of 13, with nothing but the clothes on his back. He found work in a mine like this in Pennsylvania. He died before I was born, and to be frank, I do not know what he looked like as a child so he could even be in this picture; the work is what killed him though, black lung is no joke.
From my understanding he did not regret it one bit, as poverty was prolific in Italy at the time.
blazelet on May 4th, 2023 at 17:15 UTC »
It wasn't benevolent bosses who ended these practices ... it was workers who fought and bled and died to secure better rights.