The Causes Of Child Labor Abuse During The Gilded Age In America: An Ideological Perspective

After the Reconstruction Era to the end of the 19th century,the United States underwent the transition from the traditional agricultural society to the modern industrial society,which was also called the Gilded Age.During this period,the ideological system of America was dominated by laissez-faire doctrine and social Darwinism,which was reflected in American government’s social and economic policies.An unprecedented economic prosperity was achieved in the wake of these policies,yet a variety of social problems popped up and became increasingly serious,among which child labor was the most pressing problem to be addressed.With regard to the causes of the rampant use of child labor,many scholars,from an economic perspective,believe that the roots of child labor are the shortage of labor.As a result of industrialization and urbanization,children become the main pool of labor force.Scholars think from the religious point of view,contending that the prevalence of child labor is prompted by the Puritan doctrine,according to which children ought to work,and working can not only help them to overcome laziness,but also cultivate their self-discipline,and bestow good education on them in the process of labor.The author,however,thinks that aside from economic and religious factors,the ideological factors,specifically social Darwinism and laissez-faire doctrine,play a part in the rampant abuse of child labor in the Gilded Age.Therefore,this thesis,standing from an ideological perspective,aims to elaborate how social Darwinism and laissez-faire doctrine give rise to the ineffectual enforcement of government regulation and child labor law and the injustice of judicial as well as the maltreatment of the child labor in industry,suggesting that instead of merely identifying economic and historical-religious factors for the issue of exploitation of child labor,the ideological factors should also be taken into consideration.In the aura of the laissez-faire doctrine and social Darwinism since the end of the Civil War to the late 19^thcentury,the ideology of the United States was imbued with protecting private interests,advocating extreme individualism,emphasizing individual self-reliance,objecting state intervention and resisting social reform,from governmental implementation of child labor policy to the judicial decision on the child labor cases and judicial interpretation on child labor law.This,to some extent,has precipitated the spread of child labor.The paper,firstly,expounds the influence of the mainstream thought in the Gilded Age on American society,and briefly introduces the connotation of laissez-faire and social Darwinism and the background of child labor.Then the thesis goes on to analyze the impact of the two strands of thought on American governmental regulation on child labor and the lax implementation of child labor law and then followed by judicial interpretation on the policies and the cases related to child labor.Afterwards the paper explores the impact of current trend of thought on employers and child labor.Finally,the paper reaches the conclusion that the prevailing ideological trend of the Gilded Age has indeed contributed to the abuse of child labor.The most important revelation that the child labor problem has brought to us is that while promoting great growth of economy and creating huge material wealth,we should also cultivate healthy cultural values and promote the development of a harmonious society.