Claire Morgan
NHD Project
Annotated Bibliography
Primary Sources
Amidon, Beulah. "Survey Graphic." Children Wanted. Jan 1937: pg 10. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.
From this primary source document I learned that children that worked in factories became alcoholics as adults. I also learned that the factories had terrible conditions. Finally, I learned that because of the terrible conditions, the children’s health was very poor.
A Miner's Story." eHistory. N.p... Web. 19 Nov 2013.
From this excerpt, I learned that neither the brothers of the author, nor the author himself was able to have and education. I also learned that their “daily life was not a pleasant one”. I also learned that one of the author’s brothers was killed in the coal mines a month before he was supposed to be married. This is very sad and helps me to realize just how dangerous the conditions in the factories were at the time.
Engels, Freidrick. "Conditions in the Mines." Quarterly Review 1842, n. pag. Print.
From this newspaper article, I learned that the Mines Report was the leading cause of the Mines Act of 1842. I also learned that the conditions of the mines cause men to have a “premature old age”. I also learned that people were happy when women no longer had to work in the mines.
Engels, Freidrick. The Conditions of the Working Class of England. 1844. Print. <
From this book I was able to learn that the transport of coal and iron is really hard and requires a lot of labor. I also learned that this book was written after the Coal Mines Act, whereas his other article was written before it. I think this is very significant that way. Finally, I learned that the boys in the coal mines would be so tired after work that they would not eat and go straight to sleep when they got home.
Hindman, Hugh. Child Labor: An American History. New York: M.E.Sharpe, Inc., 2002. Print. <
From this book, I learned that the first place that was investigated was in Pennsylvania around the time of the anthracite coal strike. I also learned that the main job of the boys was to pick slate from the coal. This was detrimental to their hands. Finally, I learned that at that time, the concern of the boys’ health that were working in the coal mines was very little.
Hine, Lewis. "Lad Fell to Death in Big Coal Chute." Mornings on Maple Street 7 Jan 1911, n. pag. Print. <
From this newspaper article I learned that a boy working in ht coal mines, fell down into the coal chute and died. I also learned that another boy, Arthur Albicker, burned his leg in the coal mines while he was working. So both of the boys fell in, one died, and the other recovered. They were both working as breaker boys. The coal mines were extremely dangerous, and I would not want to work in one.
Kraus, Walter. "Blood of Breaker Boys was spilled...Over Coal in Schuylkill Colliery." Morning Call [Leighvalley] 23 March 1989, n. pag . Print. <
From this newspaper article I learned that the children working in the coal mines only had Sunday off; they had to work Monday through Saturday. I also learned that children were overseen by a “Chute boss” whom the boys did not like. Finally, I learned that the boys’ fingertips would get all worn off. Sometimes the boys urinated on their fingers for them to become hard and calloused.
McDowell, John. "The Life of a Coal Miner." eHistory. N.p.. Web. 4 Nov 2013. <
From this online web article, I learned that young “breaker boys” only got about 50-70 cents an hour. I also learned that there were about “16,000 youngsters of the mines”. That is a lot of children ranging from about 10-16 years old. I also learned that most of the young boys wanted to enter the mines.
Miller, Donald. "The Breaker Boys." PBS The American Experience. PBS. Web. 11 Nov
From this primary source interview, I learned that a huge factory called a “breaker” was where all of the coal was processed. Hence the name “breaker boys”. I also learned that there was a slogan that said: “‘Twice as a boy and one as a man, that’s the poor miner’s lot’”. What the document stated that this meant was “…a boy when they start…boy when they end, and they’re a man in-between”. What this means is that when the boys start and stop working they are children, but really they are like men in personality and responsibility wise.
Spargo, John. The Bitter Cry of the Children. London,Macmillon and Co., Print. <
From the book I used an excerpt titled “No Rest for the Weary: Children of the Coal Mines.” From reading this excerpt I learned that boys in the coal mines cutting and harming their hands and fingers was not uncommon. I also learned that the children became “more or less deformed and bent-backed like old men”. Finally I learned that when one of the 12 year-old boys was asked if he knew God, he said “‘God? No…He must work in some other mine.’” These boys rarely knew how to read or write, and some had never even set foot in a school.
(Statutes at Large, LV, 42 Geo. III, c. 73 pp. 632-637; in A. Aspinall and E. Anthony Smith, eds., English Historical Documents, XI, 1783-1832, New York: Oxford University Press, 1959,.pp. 723-24.
From this document I learned that this “Act was the first effort to regulate working conditions in the factories.” Even though it does not apply to coal mines, I believe it is valuable to my research because it was during the time period and shows that an effort was at least being made. One of the laws that interested me the most was that the children had to have had at least 4 hours a day in terms of education.
United States. U.S. Department of Labor. Child Labor and the Welfare of Children in Anthracite Coal-Mining District. Washington D.C.: Children, 1922. Print.
From this document I learned about how the boys in the mines did their work. I also learned that the rivers would turn black from all of the soot coming from the coal mines. I also learned that the air is full of soot. It is very unhealthy. Many coal miners probably died from lung disease and/or chemical inhalation.
Photographs
1906. Photograph. Wikipedia, Wilkes-Barre. Web. 4 Feb 2014. <
This is a picture of breaker boys working in the wilkes-barre mine while the shift supervisor watches with a stick.
Coal Miner. N.d. Photograph. Shamokin Pennsylvania, Pennyslvania. Web. 4 Feb 2014. <
This is a picture of coal miners.
Evanstown. N.d. Photograph. Brigends Heritage, Wales. Web. 4 Feb 2014. <
This picture is of coal miner houses in Wales.
From a First Colliery. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 4 Feb 2014. <
This is a picture of a list of injuries in a colliery.
Hine , Lewis.Bibb Girls. 1909. Photograph. BlogspotWeb. 4 Feb 2014. <
This is a picture of girls working in the mills.
Hine, Lewis. N.d. Photograph. The Old Photo AlbumWeb. 4 Feb 2014. <
This picture is of dirty breaker boys, all lined up together.
Hine, Lewis.young driver in Brown Mine. N.d. Photograph. Weird Palace, West Virginga. Web. 4 Feb 2014. <
This picture is of dirty breaker boys.
Labor Law. N.d. Photograph. Encyclopedia.comWeb. 4 Feb 2014. <
This is a picture of coal miners going to work.
Victorian Trappers. N.d. Photograph. Keith ClavinWeb. 4 Feb 2014. <
This is a picture of a little trapper in the coal mines.