Child Labor in Vermont

How can primary sources help tell a complex story about the history of child labor in Vermont?

Overview

In the early 1900s, the National Child Labor Committee hired photographer Lewis Hine to document children at work in factories, on farms, and on streets. Hine recorded the names and ages of some of the children. In this lesson, students analyze photographs of children at work in Vermont. Students use census records to learn more about these children and to consider the complex reasons for child labor.

Lesson Plan

The Children in Lewis Hine's Photographs (PDF)

Files for The Children in Lewis Hine's Photographs to print, save or project.

Addie Card

  1. Photo and caption (PDF)
  2. 1910 census record (JPEG)
  3. Census transcription (PDF)
  4. Photo only (JPEG)

Library of Congress photo LC-DIG-nclc-01824

Alfred Higgs

  1. Photo and caption (PDF)
  2. 1920 census record (JPEG)
  3. Census transcription (PDF)
  4. Photo only (JPEG)

Library of Congress photo LC-DIG-nclc-03981

Anna Grenier

  1. Photo and caption (PDF)
  2. 1910 census record (JPEG)
  3. Census transcription (PDF)
  4. Photo only (JPEG)

Library of Congress photo LC-DIG-nclc-01731

Carl Brown

  1. Photo and caption (PDF)
  2. 1920 census record (JPEG)
  3. Census transcription (PDF)
  4. Photo only (JPEG)

Library of Congress photo LC-DIG-nclc-00309

Clarence Noel

  1. Photo and caption (PDF)
  2. 1910 census record (JPEG)
  3. Census transcription (PDF)
  4. Photo only (JPEG)

Library of Congress photo LC-DIG-nclc-01827

John Friedman

  1. Photo and caption (PDF)
  2. 1910 census record (JPEG)
  3. Census transcription (PDF)
  4. Photo only (JPEG)

Library of Congress photo LC-DIG-nclc-01842

Morris Levine

  1. Photo and caption (PDF)
  2. 1920 census record (JPEG)
  3. Census transcription (PDF)
  4. Photo only (JPEG)

Library of Congress photo LC-DIG-nclc-03979

Sadie (Sarah) Finnigan

  1. Photo and caption (PDF)
  2. 1910 census record (JPEG)
  3. Census transcription (PDF)
  4. Photo only (JPEG)

Library of Congress photo LC-DIG-nclc-01718

All photographs and captions are from the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, National Child Labor Committee Collection, photographer Lewis W. Hine.

Worksheets To Print

  1. Photograph & Caption Analysis Worksheet (PDF)
  2. Census Analysis Worksheet (PDF)

Resources for Educators

  1. Answer Key for Census Analysis Worksheets (PDF)
  2. Vermont Child Labor History Timeline (PDF)

Reading for Students

  1. The Bitter Cry of the Children (PDF)

Assessment

  1. Photo 1 (PDF)
  2. Photo 2 (PDF)
  3. Worksheet (PDF)
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